Different Winner's Circle Celebration at Yonkers Raceway: Couple Engaged to Champagne Toast

There was a different kind of celebration in the Yonkers Raceway Winner’s Circle recently. Instead of a trophy presentation to the owners and driver of a victorious horse, a champagne toast marked the engagement of Alisha Christine Cleary and Jordan Michael Herbert in what is believed to be the first such proposal in the 116-year history of one of the country’s most iconic racetracks.

This “Call to the Post,” the ceremonious bugling that calls horses to the track, certainly had a different “ring” to it!

Yonkers Raceway is a special place for this Wisconsin couple, who traveled more than 800 miles for their recent visit. Alisha is the daughter of Mike Cleary, longtime director of operations at Yonkers Raceway, and it was the first place she brought her future groom when they visited New York as a courting couple.

“I chose Yonkers Raceway because I know it is a special place for Alisha and her family, and knew it would make for another great memory,” said Herbert. “I’ve been planning this for four months.”

After dinner, Jordan arranged for the couple to get up close and personal with the horses. The couple rode in the track starting car to kick off the eighth horse race, something they did on their very first visit to Yonkers Raceway. When they returned to the Winner’s Circle, Jordan dropped to one knee and made history with the first-ever Winner’s Circle proposal at the historic track.

Alisha and Jordan will always remember Yonkers Raceway, and New York, as the place they began a new chapter of their lives together. There have been weddings at the Raceway, including the 777 and 888 affairs at the property’s casino, and many couples are known to have met there. But it seems there has never before been a marriage proposal in the Winner’s Circle.

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Photo Credit: Tom Berg

About Alisha and Jordan: The couple met at Edgewood High School in Wisconsin more than a decade ago. Fate brought them together again during their college years and they have been sweethearts ever since. Jordan is 24 years old with a BS in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alisha is 23 and graduating Edgewood College with a degree in sociology. The couple currently lives in Minneapolis, MN because of jobs, and plans to start married life in Minnesota. They are considering returning to Wisconsin, and have not ruled out relocating to New York. The date of the marriage proposal was Monday, June 29, 2015.