Crescent Fashion Sets Yonkers Raceway Track Record

Crescent Fashion set a Yonkers Raceway track record Tuesday (May 10) afternoon for a mile and ¼ trotting race, stopping the clock in 2:25:4 with owner-trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt in the sulky.

The blistering time shattered the previous mark of 2:27 by more than a full second, which was set in the 1993 Yonkers International Trot by ‎Giant Force with Sonny Patterson in the bike.

A son of Muscle Hill, Crescent Fashion won by four and ¾ -lengths, and returned $2.90 for a $2 win bet as the 2-5 favorite at Empire City Casino's historic half-mile oval. A stakes-winner who earned more than $300,000 as a sophomore, Crescent Fashion made his seasonal debut in a non-winners of six parimutuels (or $60,000) lifetime event and made short-work of his rivals in style.

In other Yonkers news, leading driver Jason Bartlett continued his assault on the standings, winning half the Tuesday afternoon races, bringing home six of 12.

Yonkers Raceway has announced across-the-the-board purse increases ranging from $500 to $5,000, beginning Monday, May 16. The hike raises the overnight purse range from $8,500 (for non-winners of $5,000 last five starts and/or $12,500 claimers) to $45,000 (weekly Opens/Open Handicaps). The current structure is $8,000 to $40,000.

The purse boost is the second in two months; an increase ranging from $1,500 to $8,000 was instituted on March 14 at Empire City Casino’s historic half-mile oval.