McGuire Trot in the Books, Stakes Continue at Yonkers Raceway

The sixth annual Dick McGuire Trot brought the best three-year-old trotters bred in New York and the McGuire Family to Yonkers Raceway on August 10th, with rousing victories by highly-regarded Crazy Wow and Buen Camino as the odds-on favorites driven by Yannick Gingras and Trond Shmedshammer, respectively, in the pair of $80,000 plus divisions for N.Y.S.S. colts and geldings.

McGuire, the legendary Knicks and St. John’s Hall of Fame point guard who was an ardent horseplayer, too, was remembered by his wife Teri, son Scott, daughter Leslie Dwyer, her husband Tom Dwyer and Dickie’s granddaughter Taryn Dwyer, in the winner’s circle presentations, and for an evening of racing celebrated in Dan Rooney’s Sports Bar at Empire City Casino, home of the historic Yonkers half-mile oval.

While the McGuire is in the books, plenty of stakes action still remains on the calendar in August and September, and then concludes with an October coup de grace - the much-anticipated return of the International Trot on October 10th for a purse of $1 million when the finest trotters from across the globe make their way to American shores, final destination Yonkers, New York in Westchester County.

The August stakes on the horizon include: the Lew Barasch Trot for freshmen colts and geldings on August 17th, which remembers the publicist extraordinaire from Roosevelt Raceway, who later made the International a fixture at Yonkers; and the eliminations Triple Crown jewels, the Yonkers Trot and Messenger Stakes on August 29. September action is highlighted by the Mike Cipriani Trot for three-year-old NYSS fillies on the first, paying homage to one of the greatest harness lensmen of all time who extraordinarily photographed the greatest trotters and pacers to ever race at Yonkers; the Frank Becerra Pace for freshmen NYSS fillies on September 3rd, remembering the remarkable Journal News sports cartoonist and good guy; and the $500,000 finals of the Yonkers Trot and Messenger Pace on September 5th.

The Raceway’s live season continues Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (all at 7:10 PM), with a Tuesday matinee (first post 1 PM). Evening simulcasting accompanies all night programs, with afternoon simulcasting available daily.