The Yonkers Trot is a

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

event for three-year-old

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

trotters raced at a distance of one mile at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York. The race was created in 1955 to join the Hambletonian and the

Kentucky Futurity The Kentucky Futurity is a stakes race for three-year-old trotters, held annually at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky since 1893. It is part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. In the 2007 race, Donato Hanover's winning time ...

to form the new United States Trotting Triple Crown.

Historical race events

Driven by Joe O'Brien, California runner

Scott Frost Scott Andrew Frost (born January 4, 1975) is a former American football coach and player. He was the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 2018 to 2022. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Frost played college football as a qu ...

followed up his victory in the Hambletonian Stakes with a win in the 1955 Yonkers Trot inaugural. The colt went on to win the Kentucky Futurity to become the first winner of the Trotting Triple Crown. In 1967, eight of the thirteen Yonkers Trot runners broke stride helping Harry Pownall, Sr. drive longshot Pomp to victory. Reminiscent of the day when

Ron Turcotte Ronald Joseph Morel "Ronnie" Turcotte, (born July 22, 1941) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973. Career Turcotte began his career in Toronto as a h ...

aboard the legendary

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

obliterated the

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

track record by 2 3/5 seconds in winning the 1973

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

, in 1977

Billy Haughton William Robert (Billy) Haughton (November 23, 1923 – July 15, 1986) was an American harness driver and trainer. He was one of only three drivers to win the Hambletonian four times, the only one to win the Little Brown Jug five times, and the ...

drove Green Speed to a new Yonkers Trot record by the same 2 3/5 seconds margin. The 2000 Yonkers Trot saw Jacqueline Ingrassia become the first female driver to ever win a leg of a harness racing Triple Crown event when she guided Goalfish to victory. In 2016, Paula Wellwood became the first female trainer to win not only the Yonkers Trot but the U.S. Trotting Triple Crown with

Marion Marauder Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) * Marion (surname) * Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" * Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * M ...

. Due to renovations at Yonkers Raceway, the race was hosted by

Hawthorne Race Course Hawthorne Race Course is a racetrack for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago. The oldest continually run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating syst ...

in Chicago. It was won by

Windsong's Legacy Windsong's Legacy was a Standardbred trotting horse who won the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters in 2004, capturing the Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity The Kentucky Futurity is a stakes race for three-year-old t ...

who posted the fastest mile in the 34 years that harness racing had been run at the Hawthorne track.

Race locations

*1955–2003, & 2006–present:

Yonkers Raceway Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New Y ...

, Yonkers, New York *2004:

(

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) *2005:

Freehold Raceway Freehold Raceway is a half-mile racetrack in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, and is the oldest racetrack in the United States. Horseraces have been taking place at Freehold Raceway since the 1830s. The Monmouth County Agricultural Society was for ...

(

Freehold Borough, New Jersey Freehold is a borough and the county seat of Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

)USTA August 20, 2005 article by Don Bielak titled "Strong Yankee wins Yonkers Trot"
Retrieved October 19, 2016

Race distances

From inception in 1955 through 1962, the Yonkers Trot was raced over a distance of 1 1/16 miles (1710 metres).

Records

; Most wins by a driver: * 6 –

Stanley Dancer Stanley Franklin Dancer (July 25, 1927 – September 9, 2005) was an American harness racing driver and trainer. He was the only horseman to drive and train three Triple Crowns in horse racing. In total, he drove 23 Triple Crown winners. He ...

(1959, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975) ; Most wins by a trainer: * 6 – Stanley Dancer (1959, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975) ; Stakes record (1 mile): * 1:53 1/5 – Windsong's Legacy (2005 at Hawthorne) * 1:54 1/5 – Archangel (2012 at Yonkers) ; Stakes record (1 1/16 miles): * 2:10 3/5 –

Duke Rodney Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

(1961 at Yonkers)

Yonkers Trot winners

References

External links

Yonkers Raceway
{{Triple Crown of Horse Racing Harness races in the United States Harness races for three-year-old trotters United States Triple Crown of Harness Racing Recurring sporting events established in 1955 1955 establishments in New York (state)