August 30, 2018 | By Al Cimaglia

One for all, all for one was the motto attributed to the heroes of the novel The Three Musketeers. In essence it means 
everyone supports each other, and no one is left behind. Unfortunately, the opposite is true in harness racing where seemingly no one is concerned with anyone else. Maybe I'm a dreamer but this would have been the weekend to promote a North American festival of harness racing, as both Yonkers and Mohawk Park will card signature races with large purses on Saturday night. 

It's another big weekend of Grand Circuit Racing with race tracks competing against each other rather than cross promoting in hopes of growing the harness racing fan base. This could have been the time to try a Messenger Stakes-Canadian Pacing Derby Double. Maybe the logistics of the different currencies are an issue to overcome. But it seems in 2018 there should be a way to accomplish a cross over bet. How about a giant Pick 4 guarantee involving a sequence of the Yonkers Trot, the Messenger, the Maple Leaf Trot and Canadian Pacing Derby? 

Whatever the case might be, if there was an effort made by both tracks to help each other and ultimately grow the sport that is a win-win. This is not meant to be a critique of either race track, but rather the lack of a bigger plan for a sport that needs a spotlight rather than a flashlight. Somehow, someway the chances for growth would be far greater if there was focus on the big picture, that won't be easy to accomplish but the benefits could propel the sport in popularity. 

The Messenger Stakes and Yonkers Trot represent legs of the pacing and trotting triple crown. The issue is most people who bet harness racing couldn't name the events involved in the triple crown of harness racing. The Cane Pace, the Messenger Stakes and Little Brown Jug make up the pacing triple crown. The Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity represent the races involved in the trotting triple crown. 

This year the Hambletonian champion Atlanta has skipped the Yonkers Trot, so obviously there can't be a trotting triple crown winner. The Cane Pace winner, Stay Hungry will compete in the Messenger Stakes this weekend. Beyond the individual events the scope of harness racing throughout North America should be the focal point as the races in Milton, Ontario and in Yonkers, New York are full of stars and rivalries. 

Below are the horses in post position order with drivers and trainers for Saturday's headline events at Yonkers. 

Yonker's Trot-Purse $500,000 
1-Helpisontheway-J Morrill Jr.-L Toscano 
2-Lindseys Pride-M Miller-E Miller 
3-Lindys Big Bang-D Dunn-R Norman 
4-Six Pack-A Svanstedt-A Svanstedt 
5-Maxus-M MacDonald-J Takter 
6-Mississippi Storm-J Bartlett-T Fanning 
7-Tito-J Bartlett-E Miller 
8-The Veteran-J Stratton-G Ducharme 

Messenger Pace Final-Purse $500,000 
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line 
1-Springsteen-B Sears-R Allard 
2-Winston-C Callahan-J Butenschoen 
3-Topville Olympian-J Morrill Jr.-C Oakes 
4-JK Wildfire-J Bartlett-B Pelling 
5-Babes Dig Me-G Brennan-T Alagna 
6-Stay Hungry-D McNair-T Alagna 
7-Nutcracker Sweet-J Stratton-JTakter 
8-Jimmy Freight-L Roy-A Harris 

Below are the horses in post position order with driver and trainers for Saturday's signature events at Mohawk Park. 

Canadian Pacing Derby Final-Purse $600,000 
1-Split The House-B Miller-C Oakes 
2-Lazarus N-Y Gingras-J Takter 
3-Mcwicked-D Miller-C Coleman 
4-Rockin Ron-S Zeron-R Burke 
5-Filibuster Hanover-T Tetrick-R Burke 
6-All Bets Off-M Kakaley-R Burke 
7-Nirvana Seelster-Trev Henry-W Budd 
8-Sintra-J Jamieson-D Menary 
9-Dr J Hanover-S Filion-T Alagna 
10-Western Fame-A Mccarthy-J Takter 

Maple Leaf Trot Final-Purse $651,000 
1-Crazy Wow-J Jamieson-M Melander 
2-Dancer Hall-S Filion-P Reid 
3-Marion Marauder-S Zeron-M Keeling 
4-Ariana G-D Miller-J Takter 
5-Will Take Charge-T Tetrick-J Gillis 
6-Warrawee Roo-J Macdonald-L Blais 
7-Hannelore Hanover-Y Gingras-R Burke 
8-Emoticon Hanover-B Mcclure-L Blais 
9-Guardian Angel As-B Miller-A Lorentzon 
10-Pinkman-A Mccarthy-J Takter 

Check me out on Twitter, @AlCimaglia.