Hambletonian victor Chip Chip Hooray, riding a three race win streak,
has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite for this coming
Saturday's $338,626 Yonkers Trot Final.

The son of Pine Chip drew post seven in the eight horse field, with
regular pilot Eric Ledford set to drive for trainer Chuck Sylvester.

The 48th edition of the Yonkers Trot will go as race nine at Yonkers
Raceway this Saturday, August 24.

The classic race for 3-year-olds is the second leg of the Trotting
Triple Crown, with the final leg, the Kentucky Futurity, to be
contested at Lexington's Red Mile on Saturday, September 28. The
Hambletonian, held at the Meadowlands on August 3, was the first leg
of the trio.

Only six horses have captured the Trotting Triple Crown since its
inception in 1955. The last was Super Bowl in 1972. The other Triple
Crown winners are Scott Frost in 1955, Speedy Scot in 1963, Ayres in
1964, Nevele Pride in 1968, and Lindy's Pride in 1969.

Chip Chip Hooray is owned by his trainer, along with Neal Goldman of
Washington Township, N.J., Mike Prakas of Boca Raton, Fla., and
Wingedfoot Farms (Nancy and Edward Iacobucci) of Delray Beach, Fla.

The small trotter, a mere $20,000 yearling purchase, won his Yonkers
Trot Elimination last Saturday in fine fashion, scoring by two
lengths in 1:581. The win was his third in a row, coming on the heels
of the August 3 Hambletonian Final and his Hambletonian Elimination
one week earlier. The colt has $968,872 in lifetime earnings.

Sylvester has scored the Hambletonian-Yonkers Trot double twice
before, with two time Horse of the Year Mack Lobell in 1987 and with
Muscles Yankee in 1998. Napoletano played the role of spoiler in
Sylvester's 1987 Triple Crown bid, while Trade Balance won the
Kentucky Futurity in 1998, ending Muscles Yankee's hopes for the
Crown.

Among the drivers in this year's edition, Michel Lachance has won the
Yonkers Trot three times (Continentalvictory in 1996, Crown's
Invitation in 1991, and in a dead heat with McCluckey in 1992) and
Cat Manzi has won the event once (Bullville Victory in 1994.)

Bubba Dunn, a 1:571, one-half length winner in his Yonkers Trot
Elimination, has been listed as the second choice at 3-1, and will
start from the rail with Jeff Gregory driving for trainer Jeffrey
Smith.

Owner Ira Kristel of Manhasset, N.Y. ponied-up $35,000 to supplement
Bubba Dunn to the race. The gelded son of Inquirer, who has earned
just $52,347 in his career, has been extremely consistent this
season, with four wins and five seconds in 11 starts.

"He's very good on a half-mile track," said Kristel. "I figured if we
drew well, we'd have a shot. I took a gamble. The first three pills
drawn today were six, seven, and eight -- and three good horses drew
there. I was feeling pretty good by that time."

Bubba Dunn was purchased privately in Ohio in this spring and since
his trotter is a gelding Kristel said he hopes to race the horse for
quite some time.

"He's staked to zero, and while there are a couple of other races
where you can supplement, those are on a mile track," he said. "I
don't think he can beat those horses on a mile track. But he tries
hard every time, and he's real handy on a half."

The third choice, at 9-2 from the outside post, number eight, is
Civil Action with Michel Lachance to drive for trainer Tom Merriman
and owner Fred Monteleone of Passaic, N.J. Civil Action led through
the first half of his elimination before yielding to finish second to
the favorite, Chip Chip Hooray.

Civil Action, another son of Pine Chip, took his lifetime mark of
1:53 at the Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day, winning the $50,000
Townsend Ackerman after making a break in his Hambletonian
Elimination one week earlier. Chip Chip Hooray's Hambletonian win was
in 1:533. Civil Action has already banked $323,535 in his racing
career. Here's the field for the Yonkers Trot Final:

The Yonkers Trot Final - Purse $338,626

PP. Horse Driver Line

1. Bubba Dunn Jeff Gregory 3-1

2. Fearless Foster Ross Wolfendden 12-1

3. El Glide Cat Manzi 6-1

4. Miracle Lane Stephane Bouchard 10-1

5. Minnesota Thro TBA 15-1

6. Malabar Motion Wally Hennessey 6-1

7. Chip Chip Hooray Eric Ledford 5-2

8. Civil Action Michel Lachance 9-2