Etonnant “amazing,” awaits International Trot at Yonkers on Saturday
At 0h29, on September 5, 2023 • By Standardbred Owners Association of New York (SOANY)
The 9-year-old trotting sensation Etonnant, winner of the 2022 Elitloppet at Solvalla in Stockholm, Sweden, will be looking to add to his more than $2.7 million in career earnings when he goes to the post in the $1 million International Trot at Yonkers this Saturday (Sept. 9). But first he has to get out of quarantine.
That shouldn’t be a problem. Etonnant, who has taken up temporary residency at The Ark, the specialty USDA Equine Import and Quarantine center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, N.Y., is expected to be released in plenty of time for the International. He’s reportedly doing well – one observer described his appearance, without a trace of irony, as “amazing” – and will look to improve upon his IT performance last year when he made a break and finished eighth. Etonnant’s sire, Timoko, was second by a half-length to Papagayo E in the event’s 2015 edition.
Etonnant and an American rival, It’s Academic, headline a star-studded field in this year’s renewal, considered by many to be one of the deepest and most talented in the event’s storied history. First post for Saturday’s card will be 12:15 p.m. All fans in attendance will receive commemorative hats, stylized in the colors worn by the driver of last year’s winner, Cokstile (Norway), along with complementary International Trot tee shirts and pins.
Also on the International Trot card, MGM Yonkers Raceway proudly hosts the New York Sires Stakes Day of Champions, with eight, $225,000 finals featuring the best New York State-breds, plus two featured Invitationals worth $250,000. Including the $1,000,000 International, the purse distribution for the afternoon will total $3,200,000.
