Two divisions of trotters in the North American Amateur Drivers Association series went to post tonight at Yonkers Raceway with one split as a non-wagering event off the card followed by a betting race on the nightly wagering program.
Matt Zuccarello won the non-betting contest with Stealing while Tony Ciuffetelli guided Golden Kronos home first in the wagering event.
Sent away as race one on the 10-race betting card tonight Golden Kronos started from the pole and got away third as Exarch and driver Tony Verruso showed the way by the first stanza in :28. Verruso kept the pedal to the metal as Exarch got first call at the half in :58.1.
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After having to cancel its first seasonal leg last week due to unsafe track conditions this years NAADA Trotting Series finally got underway with two $8,000 legs Monday at Yonkers Raceway and when the judges posted the official signs John Calabrese and Matt Zuccarello each emerged victorious in their respective splits.
Calabrese s victory came behind the veteran Cantab Hall gelding when Calabrese darted Dark Pool to the lead from the pole position and after being overcome by Golden Kronos (Tony Ciuffetelli) Calabrese quickly retook command after the quarter was trotted in :28.4. And once on top Calabrese played catch me if you can and no one in the short five-horse field could as Calabrese kept the pedal to the metal and the field lined-up behind him.
Case in point: Dawn Anderson and Take A Wish.
For the second time in the past few weeks, Anderson and the five-year-old Wishing Stone mare rallied to victory, this time with a come-from-behind triumph in the $15,000 North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) Final at Yonkers Raceway on the cold Friday evening of December 18. On November 11, the duo teamed up for a 1:58.3 triumph in a NAADA leg, also at Yonkers Raceway.
But their victory tonight was amazing in that they came from seventh at the top of the Yonkers homestretch and then rallied to a going away one length triumph in the non-wagering contest that was held over from yesterday due to a heavy snowfall that besieged the northeast then.