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Sears, Burke win 2013 Yonkers driver, trainer titles

Sears, Burke win 2013 Yonkers driver, trainer titles
Thursday, December 26, 2013 - by Frank Drucker, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway



Yonkers, NY --- To the surprise of no one in particular, Brian Sears and Ron Burke left town with Yonkers Raceway's 2013 titles as leading driver and trainer, respectively.


The 231-program meet (pared down by seven weather cancellations), which ran from Jan .11-Dec. 21, saw Sears--who turns 45 next month--claim his first Westchester title in his first full-fledged Yonkers season. He won 471 races from 2,034 starts (23.2 percent), 44 more victories than two-time defending champ George Brennan (427 wins). Jason Bartlett (337), Dan Dube (226) and Jordan Stratton (217) rounded out the leading quintet.

Sears' $8,736,133 in purses also led the legion.


The 44-year-old Burke, as part of a record-setting, $22-milllion purse season, earned his first ever local training title. He won 176 races from his local high 723 starters (24.3 percent), taking a season-long scrum with Rene Allard (140 winners, 24.5 percent). Gilberto Garcia-Herrera (114), PJ Fraley (108) and Scott DiDomenico (90) completed the first five.



Burke's $4,233,573 in purses was about $1.8 million more than runner-up Fraley's figure.



The Raceway's 2014 live schedule begins Monday, Jan 6, pending NYS Gaming Commission approval.


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