Yonkers Trot
| Location | Yonkers, New York |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1955 |
| Race type | Harness race for standardbred trotters |
| Website | Empire City Casino |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 mile (1,609 metres or 8 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt, 1/2 mile oval |
| Track | Yonkers Raceway |
| Qualification | 3 year olds |
| Purse | $500,000 (2016) |
The Yonkers Trot is a harness racing event for three-year-old Standardbred trotters raced at a distance of one mile at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York. The race was created in 1955 to join the Hambletonian and the Kentucky Futurity to form the new United States Trotting Triple Crown.
Driven by Joe O'Brien, California runner Scott Frost followed up his victory in the Hambletonian Stakes with a win in the 1955 Yonkers Trot inaugural. The colt went on to win the Kentucky Futurity to become the first winner of the Trotting Triple Crown.
In 1967, eight of the thirteen Yonkers Trot runners broke stride helping Harry Pownall, Sr. drive longshot Pomp to victory.
Reminicient of the day when Ron Turcotte aboard the legendary Thoroughbred Secretariat obliterated the Belmont Park track record by 2 3/5 seconds in winning the 1973 Belmont Stakes, in 1977 Billy Haughton drove Green Speed to a new Yonkers Trot record by the same 2 3/5 seconds margin.
The 2000 Yonkers Trot saw Jacqueline Ingrassia become the first female driver to ever win a leg of a harness racing Triple Crown event when she guided Goalfish to victory.
In 2016, Paula Wellwood became the first female trainer to win not only the Yonkers Trot but the U.S. Trotting Triple Crown with Marion Marauder.
Due to renovations at Yonkers Raceway, the race was hosted by Hawthorne Race Course in Chicago. It was won by Windsong's Legacy who posted the fastest mile in the 34 years that harness racing had been run at the Hawthorne track.
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