$1 Million International Trot Field Announced

The world’s greatest trotters – 10 elite harness horses carrying the flags of six different countries – have accepted invitations to the prestigious $1 million International Trot, to be contested at a mile and a quarter on Saturday afternoon, October 10th, at historic Yonkers Raceway, it was announced today.

The field (with countries in parenthesis) in alphabetical order is as follows: BBS Sugarlight (Norway); Bee a Magician (Canada); Creatine (USA); Mosaique Face (Sweden); ‎Natural Herbie ‎(USA);‎ Oasis Bi (Italy); On Track Piraten (Sweden); Papagayo E (Norway); Rod Stewart (Italy); Timoko (France).

It will mark the return of the global trotting showcase after a 20-year absence. Yonkers’ famed half-mile oval last hosted the spectacle in 1995, captured by Sweden’s His Majesty. The one-million dollar purse equals the richest in Yonkers history. The first seven-figure purse was in the 2007 Art Rooney Pace, won by Southwind Lynx.

The European invaders are scheduled to depart for New York’s JFK Airport from Liège Airport in eastern Belgium, close to German city of Düsseldorf, next Wednesday, September 30th. The transcontinental flight is a distance of 5960 kilometers or 3,703.4 miles, and the journey travelled takes eight hours and 55 minutes.

The Roosevelt International Trot was inaugurated in 1959 with great worldwide fanfare at now defunct Roosevelt Raceway in 1959. Yonkers Raceway took over as host of the International in 1989 with the demise of Roosevelt.

The French import, artichoke-eating Jamin, captured the inaugural edition in ’59 before a crowd of 48,000. A record throng of 54,861 watched Hairos II of the Netherlands win the first renewal the following year.

The mighty French standardbearer Ideal du Gazeau is the only three-time International champion, pulling off the “Three-peat” consecutively in 1981, ’82 and ’83, after finishing second to Classical Way in 1980. Legendary U.S.A. flag-carriers Su Mac Lad and Delmonica Hanover, and French standouts Roquepine and Un de Mai, were all two-time International champions during the sixties and seventies. Lutin d’Isigny continued the French dominance in the eighties, winning two straight following Ideal du Gazeau’s three in a row.

The United States and France has dominated the International with 15 and 13 victories, respectively. Sweden is third with three, and Canada has captured a pair.

The return of the International Trot has been discussed for years, gaining momentum with the successes of last season’s International Trot Preview, and French simulcasting from Yonkers, which has typically had wagering of $1 million plus for each card. Last year’s International Preview was contested at a mile-and-a-quarter, and won by Natural Herbie (Verlin Yoder) in a world-record 2:24.4.

The purse distribution (same as all events) is as follows: winner-50 percent, 2nd-25 percent, 3rd-12 percent, 4th-8 percent, 5th-5 percent (non-cashing overseas entrants receive $37,500 via a purse supplement, while non-cashing North American entrants receive $10,000).

The International is part of a scheduled matinee card, with proposed first post time (pending approval of the NYS Gaming Commission) at 2 PM, and post time of the “main event” at approximately 3:20 PM.

“It’s our pleasure to bring back the International Trot,” Raceway president Timothy J. Rooney said. “It’s been a signature New York race since it debuted at Roosevelt Raceway back in 1959. We took over the race after Roosevelt closed, and it was very well received.

“With Yonkers now a major player in the overseas simulcast market, we feel this is the best time to showcase our track to the world by again inviting the best trotters in the world to race here. We have had tremendous cooperation from our horsemen, and all of us are looking forward to it.”