The final legs of both Triple Crowns of harness racing returned home to Yonkers Raceway in New York on Saturday night (Nov. 25), after live racing returned to the historic track one week earlier after a 17-month hiatus for renovations.
As Glidemaster and Algiers Hall battled for the lead on the backstretch during the final half-mile of the Yonkers Trot, trainer Blair Burgess had a bad feeling. Less than a minute later, it changed to elation. Glidemaster overtook Algiers Hall in the final 1/16 to win the $728,930 Yonkers Trot by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:55 4/5 and complete a sweep of the Trotting Triple Crown, after winning the Hambletonian and the Kentucky Futurity earlier in the year, the 8th horse in history to do so. It boosted his seasonal earnings to more than $1.9 million, a new record for a trotter, breaking the mark previously held by 2004 Triple Crown winner Windsong's Legacy.
Algiers Hall and driver John Stark, Jr. took the lead in the early stages of the race and led through an opening 1/4 of 29 2/5 and a 1/2 of 58 3/5.
George Brennan tipped Glidemaster to the outside from the No. 3 spot as the horses reached the half. He got to second on the backstretch and was even with Algiers Hall as the tandem reached the 3/4 mark in 1:26 2/5.
From there, it was a match race as Algiers Hall and Glidemaster separated themselves from the remainder of the field. Ira K finished third, beaten by 11 lengths.
Results chart from USTA
"When he didn't crossover on the backside I was seriously concerned," said Burgess, who trains Glidemaster for his wife, Karin Olsson-Burgess, and father, Robert, along with Marsha Cohen and Brittany Farms. "But he's just a great, great horse. He dug in, I know he doesn't know the end of a mile. Algiers Hall put up a hell of a fight. It was definitely nerve-wracking, very nerve-wracking." The Yonkers Trot marked Glidemaster's racing debut on a half-mile oval, and made him the first Triple Crown winner since Super Bowl in 1972 to win the Crown with a half-mile track as part of the equation. Windsong's Legacy's sweep came on three mile tracks. "He deserved it. He's a tremendous horse. He just deserved the recognition," Burgess said. "It hasn't been done like that since 1972, with the half-mile track thrown in as a kicker there. I think it shows versatility, versatility is always nice. He even showed a little gate speed just to get that spot."
Palone Ranger picked a fine time to register his first win of the season. Sidelined earlier this year because of a heart ailment and racing for the first time since October 7, Palone Ranger won the $546,830 Messenger Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:54 3/5. The Messenger is the third leg of the Pacing Triple Crown. Total Truth won the first jewel, the Cane Pace, and Mr Feelgood won the second, the Little Brown Jug. Neither of those horses entered the Messenger.
Perfect Union led through the opening 3/4 of the race through fractions of 28 1/5, 56 3/5, and 1:25 3/5 before Palone Ranger, who was third, came inside along the pylons to pull away from the field in the stretch. Perfect Union was second and Livestrong finished third.
Breeders Crown champ Shark Gesture got stuck on the outside at the half-mile point and faded to last place in the six-horse field.
Results chart from USTA
Palone Ranger is trained by Greg Peck, who recently took over the training from Chris Ryder. He is owned by Four Friends Racing Stable and Perretti Racing Stable. "It was a team effort," Peck said. "The horse was great, but it starts with Perretti Farms, they raise the best horses in the business. I got a nice healthy horse and conditioned him well and Ronnie Pierce is the man, it was a very foxy drive on his part. I was confident when I warmed him up tonight because I could see how he was getting around this track," Peck said. "The only concern was he came in off a layoff, so you had to hope he was like a Thoroughbred and overcome it. "It's my biggest win and it feels good. This is a race with a lot of history, it's a Triple Crown race and it's a huge honor. Let's just hope we keep it going."
