YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) Nuncio won the $500,000 Yonkers Trot on Saturday night, leading wire to wire in the third leg of trotting's Triple Crown.
Driven by Johnny Campbell, Nuncio finished the mile in 1:56 for his 10 victory of the year.
Nuncio also won the second leg, the Kentucky Futurity on Oct. 5 at The Red Mile. Nuncio was second behind stablemate Trixton in the first leg, the Hambletonian Stakes on Aug. 2 at the Meadowlands.
The 3-year-old colt, sired by Andover Hanover and trained by Jimmy Takter, beat Datsyuk by 2 1/4 lengths and paid $2.10 to win as the prohibitive favorite.
''You just want to make sure he keeps his mind to the task, he does the rest,'' Campbell said.
Takter has won the Yonkers Trot four times, and Campbell has three victories.
''This horse is just so consistent, I have so much admiration and think so much of him because he always gives me a good effort,'' Campbell said. ''Horses like that are hard to find.''
All Bets Off also led wire to wire in the $500,000 Messenger Stakes, the third jewel of the pacing Triple Crown. Driven by Matt Kakaley and trained by Ron Burke, the 3-year-old son of Bettor's Delight beat Luck Be Withyou by 2 3/4 lengths. All Bets Off finished in 1:51:1 and paid $11.80 for his 11th victory of the year.
''It's huge,'' Kakaley said. ''This is the biggest race I've won. This year has been a great year for me. Ronnie has been giving me a lot of opportunities and things have been going really well. So thanks to him.''
In the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Lyonssomewhere won the Cane Pace at Tioga Downs and Limelight Beach took the Little Brown Jug at Delaware County Fairgrounds.
