YONKERS, N.Y.— Yogi Sheridan sent 9-5 second choice Mr Contestant down the road to notch an easy harness racing victory in the $13,100 second preliminary for the North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) winter series on Thursday night (Jan. 29) at Yonkers Raceway.

Leaving from post 4, Sheridan secured the lead with Mr Contestant heading to a :29.1 first quarter while Psalmsfortysixfive (driven by Scott Keppler) nestled into the pocket after firing out of post 7. Mr Contestant strolled on a comfortable lead to a :59 half and faced minor pressure up the backstretch from first-over Ima Standup Guy (Joe Faraldo). Past three-quarters in 1:29, Mr Contestant cruised through the remainder and strode for the finish to a two-length win in 2:00.2 with Psalmsfortysixfive giving chase in second. Vali Hanover (Tony Beltrami), the 4-5 favorite, rallied from second over for third and Bar Keep De Vie (Dawn Anderson) recovered from a break in stride to close for fourth.

MR CONTESTANT REPLAY

Peter Pellegrino trains Mr Contestant, an 11-year-old gelding by Winning Mister, for owner Room4040 LLC Stables. He paid $5.72 to win.

NAADA action resumes next Thursday (Feb. 5) at Yonkers Raceway with the third preliminary of the club’s winter trotting series. First-race post time at Yonkers is 6:45 p.m. (EST).

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Ray Cotolo, for the NAADA