Yonkers, NY — Jiggy Jog S, a familiar face to the North American racing scene but representing Sweden, where she was bred, improved from second in last year’s MGM Yonkers International Trot to first in this year’s $1 million edition on Saturday (September 7) afternoon, prevailing for driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Ake Svanstedt in 2:25 flat for the mile and a quarter distance. Canadian representative Logan Park (Doug McNair), got away well from post five, but Dunn wanted the front with Jiggy Jog S and moved her out of second to take over the lead beyond the :29.3 opening quarter. Jiggy Jog was well-rated and didn’t face any outside pressure through a sensible tempo of :58.2 and 1:27.2 while Hail Mary S (Orjan Kihlstrom), another Swedish representative, went first-up from fifth on the way to three-quarters, giving cover to the United States’ Periculum (Scott Zeron). Hail Mary S couldn’t really make any progress on the rim towards the 1:55.4 mile marker, and that allowed Jiggy Jog to get separation on the others as Periculum went three-wide early on the last turn. There was no catching Jiggy Jog S, though, as she kept clear and allowed Dunn to raise his whip in celebration through the stretch. Periculum, coming off a victory in the Maple Leaf Trot a week ago, was a good second, 3 1/2 lengths behind Jiggy Jog, and France’s Ideal San Leandro (Bjorn Goop) got third. Logan Park held fourth from United States representative It’s Academic (David Miller). “She’s an amazing mare. It’s always a pleasure to sit behind her. For her to win a race like that just adds to her great career,” Dunn said following the race. “She’s been in such great form. I talked to Ake and Sarah before the race, and they were confident that she could go on the front today against these ones, but it was always going to be up to seeing what happened early. There was a bit of speed from outside and a little bit from inside, but she left so well herself. Once the option was there to re-move and go to the front, we took that chance. We got pretty good fractions after that. I was sort of waiting for a bit more pressure the middle of the race, but she was strong. “She was a good and clear second last year, but she was only a 4-year-old mare then. It’s always a big step up when they finish their 3-year-old year and in their 4-year-old year they’ve got to race the open horses. She’s just got so much stronger and bigger and mentally tougher this year. You’ll see she’s been raced pretty lightly so far. Ake and Sarah have been taking their time and not racing her too much to make sure she’s there at the end of the year for the Breeders Crown. It’s a fun ride to be on. It’s always fun to sit behind her, and we’ll be looking forward to that for the rest of the year.” A 5-year-old daughter of Walner bred by Vestmarka AB, Jiggy Jog S is co-owned by Svanstedt in partnership with Steve Stewart, John Lengacher and Hickory Hollow Stables. She has a summary of 23-10-2 from 40 starts, has put away $2,970,391 and paid $3.70 to win as the favorite. She was atop a $16 exacta and a $316 trifecta. “Those races are never easy. She has kind of peaked the last couple of days,” remarked Sarah Svanstedt. “She was a little bit tired after the Cashman and the Pocono race, too, actually. It’s tough when you have those kind of plans you have to follow and you can’t really give a week or two more off – it’s tricky. I was so satisfied with her in the last turn. She’s tremendous. “Maybe the Caesar’s Classic or Lexington (are next). We’ll have to see how she gets out of this race to start with.” While Stewart is known more on the breeding side of the sport through his Hunterton Farms, he said that he hopes Jiggy Jog has plenty of more racing to do before she becomes a broodmare.  “I told Cindy (his wife) that I hope three years from now people come to us and say ‘will you please take that damn filly and breed her?’ I told all of our partners we have enough broodmares. We don’t need another one at the moment, as long as she can compete at this level, and she appears to have a lot of fun with it,” Stewart stated. “Ake and Sarah, I think, don’t own a lot of broodmares, and so I think that their dream is to probably race her for many, many years, and that’s our dream, is to continue racing. What an opportunity and I think it’s good for the sport.”

In this exclusive interview with Jenny Sundin, Hail Mary's groom discusses the Swedish star's journey to and chances in Saturday's $1M MGM Yonkers International Trot.

In the lead-up to Saturday's $1M MGM Yonkers International Trot, Kristin Riise Odegard sat down with Dylan Garcia, the groom and best friend of France's Eclat de Glorie.

Richard Westerink's French 6-year-old shows off his excitement as he gets ready for the International Trot

For all you eager harness racing fans out there: here is an early look at the past performances for all competitors in the upcoming $1M MGM Yonkers International Trot!

The draw for the $1M Yonkers Raceway International Trot is set to take place LIVE on Tuesday, September 3!

Yonkers, NY – The $1,000,000 MGM Yonkers International Trot would not be a true international trotting event without at least one French-bred in the mix and Monday (Aug. 26) the track’s management team is proud to announce two additions from the country. Ideal San Leandro and Eclat De Gloire will join the growing list for the 1 -1/4 mile event on Sept. 7 at Yonkers Raceway. Ideal San Leandro will arrive in New York for very familiar connections as the 6-year-old is owned and trained by Richard Westerink, who has sent Etonnant, Dreammoko and Timoko to the MGM Yonkers International Trot over the last decade. The 45-year-old’s best finish came in 2015 when Timoko finished second. “I love New York, that’s for sure,” said Westerink on returning for his third straight MGM Yonkers International Trot experience. Although Ideal San Leandro lacks the résumé of Westerink’s previous entrants, the son of Timoko comes to town sharp, with a pair of wins and a second in his last three starts while racing at distances of 1.4 to 1.7 miles in France. Most recently he was second behind the favorite after showing good gate speed and leading the entire mile. “He’s in super form but he was also good in the winter. There were drivers who didn’t trust the horse. I told them the horse was good and they just sat on the inside. I told them to stay on the lead and they wouldn’t do it. He’s really been in good form for almost six months,” said Westerink, who admits he isn’t bringing the same level of horse as in the past. “He’s tough and I trust in him but there are faster horses in the race. But when horses are in good shape there is always a chance.” In addition to his toughness, Westerink reports that Ideal San Leandro is a smaller horse that has experience on 900 meter tracks (just over a half-mile) with right turns. “I think he’ll be much better with the turns on the left like at Yonkers. He’s an easy horse that will love the track,” said Westerink, who has secured the services of top Swedish driver Bjorn Goop for the race. Eclat De Gloire comes to New York with a much different profile than his French compatriot. While the 10-year-old has earnings of over 1 million Euros for trainer Loris Garcia and owner Ecurie du Vieux Chene, he’s had trouble finding the winner’s circle of late, with his last victory coming in November 2023 in an elimination for the Group I-race Paleo di Comuni. What Eclat De Gloire lacks in 2024 achievements, he makes up for in experience, as the son of Tiego D’Etang has competed throughout Europe and is the most experienced international half-mile-track competitor in the field. The pair of French horses join Jiggy Jog, Hail Mary and Castor The Star (Sweden), Vernissage Grif (Italy), and Get A Wish (Denmark) as starters in the Sept. 7 event. The previously announced Capital Mail had to drop out of the race. The final three horses for the $1,000,000 race will be announced in the coming days and the draw is scheduled for early next week. The MGM Yonkers International Trot will be the centerpiece of a spectacular afternoon card (12:15 p.m. EDT post time) that also features a pair of $250,000 Invitationals for older horses and the $1.8 million finals of the New York Sire Stakes. 

Yonkers, NY — The field for the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot continues to take shape and Monday (Aug. 19) Yonkers Raceway officially announced the addition of Vernissage Grif as a second Italian representative. Vernissage Grif is a very accomplished son of Varenne with 43 wins from 133 career starts and earnings of over 1.5 million Euros. The 10-year-old has competed in many of Europe’s most prestigious races in recent years versus the best trotters of his era. Most recently on Aug. 15, Vernissage Grif easily won an elimination of the Gran Premio Citta di Monticatini but was disqualified due to interference in the first turn and did not get an opportunity to compete in the final. Prior to that in early May, the Alessandro Gocciadoro trainee won an elimination for the Gran Premio Lotteria at Agnano in Naples only to make a break in the final, which was won by fellow MGM Yonkers International Trot participant Capital Mail. Gocciadoro finished third in the 2023 MGM Yonkers International Trot driving Bengurion Jet and also won as a trainer with stablemate Vivid Wise As, who will be unable to defend his title due to health concerns. The Italian driver will be in the bike behind Vernissage Grif for owner Gennaro Riccio. Vernissage Grif joins Jiggy Jog, Hail Mary and Castor The Star (Sweden), Capital Mail (Italy), and Get A Wish (Denmark) as starters in the Sept. 7 event. Additional horses for the 1-1/4 mile race will be announced in the coming days. The MGM Yonkers International Trot will be the centerpiece of a spectacular afternoon card (12:15 p.m. EDT post time) that also features a pair of $250,000 Invitationals for older horses and the $1.8 million finals of the New York Sire Stakes. 

Yonkers, NY — A pair of Swedish breds — Jiggy Jog and Castor The Star — have received the fourth and fifth invitations for the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot. The 1-1/4 mile event is slated for Sept. 7 over the historic oval at Yonkers Raceway. Jiggy Jog, of course, needs no introduction to those in North America as she is the reigning Dan Patch Older Trotting Mare of the Year in the United States and is currently undefeated in three 2024 starts. Her recent 1:49.2 victory at The Meadowlands in the John Cashman Memorial versus male competition was the fourth-fastest mile ever by a mare trotter. Bred in Sweden but exported to the U.S. to race, Jiggy Jog has accumulated 21 wins in 38 career starts while earning north of $2.4 million. In 2023 she finished second behind Vivid Wise As in the MGM Yonkers International Trot and went on to win the Breeders Crown a month later. Earlier this year Jiggy Jog was sold, but she remains under the care of trainer Ake Svanstedt, who co-owns with Steve Stewart, John Lengacher and Hickory Hollow Stables. The 5-year-old daughter of Walner is scheduled to compete Saturday in the $100,000 Sebastian K invitational at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania with regular driver Dexter Dunn. Unlike her fellow Swedish flag carrier, Castor The Star has been racing in his homeland and is riding a two-race winning streak. Most recently on Aug. 10, the 6-year-old son of Maharajah captured the Åby Sprint Grand Prix at the distance of 1,640 meters (just over one mile). Trained by Jörgen Westholm for owner Team Westholm AB, Castor The Star has three victories in nine tries this year and a strong 14 wins from 46 starts for his career. Jiggy Jog and Castor The Star join Capital Mail (Italy), Get A Wish (Denmark) and Hail Mary (Sweden) as starters in the MGM Yonkers International Trot. Further starters will be announced in the coming days. The $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot will be the centerpiece of a spectacular afternoon card (12:15 p.m. EDT post time) on Sept. 7 that also features a pair of $250,000 Invitationals for older horses and the $1.8 million finals of the New York Sire Stakes.

Yonkers, NY — Get A Wish made the long journey to compete in the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot in 2023 only to fall victim to a bad trip. His connections are hoping for better luck after receiving the third invitation to the Sept. 7 event. Representing Denmark, Get A Wish raced in the outer flow for the entire 1-1/4 mile race last year and was badly backed into in the final three-eighths of the contest, costing him at least four lengths by the time the field hit the final turn. The now 6-year-old then made a break, but his fate was already sealed. Get A Wish comes into the MGM Yonkers International Trot this year off a fifth-place finish behind European star Horsy Dream in the prestigious ABY World Grand Prix raced at just under two miles for a purse of approximately US$961,000. His prior start saw him finish second in the Grade I Hugo Abergs Memorial behind Borups Victory. Now trained by Johan Untersteiner for Stall My Little Pony, Get A Wish will join Capital Mail and Hail Mary in the MGM Yonkers International Trot. Additional starters will be announced in the coming days. The MGM Yonkers International Trot will be the centerpiece of a spectacular afternoon card (12:15 p.m. EDT post time) on Sept. 7 that also features a pair of $250,000 Invitationals for older horses and the $1.8 million finals of the New York Sire Stakes. 

Yonkers, NY — One week after announcing defending champion Vivid Wise As as the first participant in the 2024 MGM Yonkers International Trot, Hail Mary has accepted the second invite to the $1 million event slated for Sept. 7 at historic Yonkers Raceway. Despite being a late bloomer who didn’t debut until well into his 3-year-old season, Hail Mary has put together an impressive résumé across Europe, winning 28 of 50 career starts and north of $1.6 million for owner Mehdi Yazdanpanh under the Stall Mary AB banner. Trained in his early years by Robert Bergh, the now 8-year-old son of Googoo Gaagaa switched to the Daniel Redén barn prior to his 6-year-old season where he remains to date. Hail Mary, who owns a lifetime mark of 1:50.2, has victories in the Swedish Trotting Derby, Breeders Crown, Aby Grand Prix and a number of other Group I races during his time on the track. He made an unsuccessful attempt at the Prix d’Amerique earlier this year, but with regular driver Orjan Kihlstrom, who will make the trip to New York for the MGM Yonkers International Trot, recently won the Group I Jamtland Grand Prix (June 9) for the second consecutive year. According to Yazdanpanh, Hail Mary will prep for the MGM Yonkers International Trot with races at Årjäng on July 13 and to defend his title in the Hugo Åbergs Memorial on July 30, before making the exciting journey to the United States. “We have not participated (in the International Trot) before but we are really looking forward to racing Hail Mary at Yonkers,” said Yazdanpanh. The MGM Yonkers International Trot will be the centerpiece of a spectacular afternoon card (12:15 p.m. EDT post time) on Sept. 7 that also features a pair of $250,000 invitationals for older horses and the $1.8 million finals of the New York Sire Stakes.