Special thanks to Kristin Riise Odegard for sharing with us this beautiful video with Ragnhild Diesen, caretaker for Powwow (who drew Post 4 in Saturday’s Yonkers International Trot, representing Norway). Ragnhild is no stranger to Yonkers or this race, as she was here 10 years ago with Norway’s Papagayo E....who was the 2015 International Trot winner (and also the SIRE of Powwow)!

Zero Otto Nove to host draw for 2025 International Trot and invitationals on Tuesday

Lexus Cody and Periculum round out the 2025 MGM Yonkers International Trot field

The field for the upcoming MGM Yonkers International Trot grows to 8 with latest round of invites Yonkers, NY — The field for the $1,000,000 MGM Yonkers International Trot is almost complete after a handful of invitations were accepted this week for the September 13 event at MGM Yonkers Raceway. Six nations are now represented in the international affair that will bring together drivers, trainers and horses from all over Europe and North America. Already announced for the MGM Yonkers International Trot were Hohneck (France), Gio Cash (Germany) and Double Deceiver (United States but racing in Sweden). They will be joined by Aetos Kronos (Sweden but racing in the U.S.), Diva EK (Italy), Gamin Jaba (France), Ideal Ligneries (France) and Powwow (Norway). Despite competing mostly in Europe, Aetos Kronos is very familiar to those in North America who have watched him excel here as a 9-year-old this year for owners Jeffrey and Michael Snyder. The son of Bold Eagle has won six of nine starts in 2025 and recently recorded a 1:49 4/5 victory in the elimination round for the Maple Leaf Trot, establishing a new mark as the fastest trotter ever on Canadian soil. Marcus Melander trains Aetos Kronos, a career winner of $1.5 million who will seek to increase that total dramatically in Saturday’s C$630,000 Maple Leaf Trot final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Diva EK is a daughter of North American-based stallion Trixton and comes to the MGM Yonkers International Trot by way of Italy for trainer Alessandro Gocciadoro and owners Antonio Nucera and Effebi Srl. The 6-year-old owns a stellar record of 20 wins in 40 career starts and was a G1 winner back on May 12 in the Menhammar Copenhagen Cup. Gamin Jaba is the second of the entrants from the barn of trainer Daniel Reden, joining the previously announced Double Deceiver in the field. A 9-year-old with $661,745 in earnings, he has 21 career wins in 81 starts despite scoring just one victory in seven tries this year. Another French entrant is Ideal Ligneries. Winless in eight starts this year, the 7-year-old has finished second three times, including in the G II Criterium De Vitesse De Basse-Normandie on August 9 (Hohneck won) and G II Grand Prix Du Department Des Alpes on August 23 (Hohneck was sixth) for trainer/driver Jean-Phillippe Monclin. For his career Ideal Ligneries has won eight times in 59 starts and earned $879,455. Bringing youth to the field is Powwow for trainer Jan Kristian Whaaler. The 5-year-old from Norway is a son of 2015 MGM Yonkers International Trot winner Papagayo E. He recently was a fast-closing third after a ground-saving trip in the $300,000 Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal exclusively for his age group at Solvalla at 2140 meters. Owned by Tom Andersen, Powwow sports a 15-2-5-3 career record. The eight horses above will be joined by two more trotters originating from either the U.S. or Canada and that announcement will occur prior to the draw on Monday, September 8. The $1,000,000 MGM Yonkers International Trot will be part of a huge card on September 13 that also includes the $200,000 MGM Aria Invitational Pace and $200,000 Robert Miecuna Invitational Trot. Post time is set for 12:00 PM (EDT) and the Empire Terrace dining room with be open for a buffet lunch. MGM Yonkers Raceway is currently operating on a Monday-Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday live racing schedule with post time each night at 6:45 p.m. (EDT). Exceptions to that schedule include the addition of live racing on Wednesdays, September 3 and 10. There will be no live racing on Friday, September 12.

With this year’s Yonkers International Trot less than three weeks away (Saturday, September 13th), a third participant has been announced – joining Hohneck and Gio Cash will be Swedish owned (and American bred) Double Deceiver! Local fans might remember this son of Cantab Hall as he was a 2nd place finisher in the 2022 MGM Yonkers Trot (behind the outstanding mare, Joviality S) – he ended the year with a 2nd in the Breeders Crown and a win in the Matron Stakes, then was purchased by Swedish connections and has been racing there ever since. He’s having an outstanding 2025 season in Sweden, having won the Sweden Cup in Solvalla in May, then the St. Michel Ajo in Mikkeli, and just two weeks ago, the Jamtland Stora Pris. Hopefully regular pilot Orjan Kihlstrom will be here to drive him, as he is one of the most successful European drivers ever (he’s won big races in the U.S as well, and has competed in the International Trot three times in the past). Pictured above is Double Deceiver taking the Jamtland Stora Pris, with fellow International invitee Gio Cash finishing just behind him!

Yonkers, NY - The $1,000,000 MGM Yonkers International Trot is just two months away on September 13 and track management has been hard at work assembling an all-star field for the 2025 edition. Accepting the first invitation is French superstar Hohneck. “It's a legendary race,” said owner/trainer Philippe Allaire on the reason he decided to accept the invite. The famed French trainer won’t be making his first trip to the MGM Yonkers International Trot or the United States, but it has been a long time since he last competed on these shores. He sent out Jeanbat Du Vivier in the 2005 Nat Ray at The Meadowlands and his prior appearances came way back in 1979 and 1980 as a 19- and 20-year-old driver behind Hillion Brillouard back when the International Trot was contested at Roosevelt Raceway. Hohneck, the 2023 Elitlopp winner, finished third in that marquee race at Solvalla in Sweden on May 25 this year. It was just his fourth on-track appearance of 2025 and Allaire is planning to compete in the Prix Washington on July 12 and Grand Prix de Vitesse at Argentan on August 9 prior to sending his 8-year-old son of Royal Dream to New York. Hohneck owns a stellar career record of 23 wins in 75 starts and nearly $3 million in earnings. While he has won at the 1 -1/4 mile distance of the MGM Yonkers International Trot, racing on a half-mile track is going to be a new experience. “He has only been on 1,000 meter tracks but he should handle the 800 meter track at Yonkers perfectly,” said Allaire. For Allaire, the experience of coming to New York and hopefully coming away victorious could be the perfect ending to the career of his champion trotter as Hohneck is reported to be retiring at the end of the year. “It's possible, Hohneck will tell us,” said Allaire when asked if the MGM Yonkers International Trot would be the final start of Hohneck’s career. One idea Allaire wouldn’t rule out was extending his North American tour to the Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park if Hohneck were to have success at Yonkers Raceway and was invited. “It’s not impossible,” said the trainer. The MGM Yonkers International Trot was raced consecutively from 1959 to 1993, again in 1995 and from 2015 to 2024 (no race was held in 2020 and 2021 during COVID). Hohneck will look to become the first French-bred to win the race since Reve d’Udon in 1990. Last year the Swedish-bred Jiggy Jog was victorious with Dexter Dunn driving for the now American-based trainer Ake Svanstedt. Always hard at work, Yonkers Raceway’s European talent scout Klaus Koch wasted no time in extending a second invitation to the Grade One $1,000,000 MGM Yonkers International Trot following a sparkling performance by Gio Cash in Sweden. The 6-year-old, who is coming off the fastest mile of his career, will be representing Germany for the September 13 event at MGM Yonkers Raceway. “When you have a horse that is able to compete in big races and you have an opportunity to race, you take it,” said Gio Cash’s driver/trainer Daniel Wäjersten. “To be able to race in big races and drive good horses is what I dreamed about when I was 10 years old. It feels really good to have the opportunity.” Not only was Gio Cash’s latest victory in the Arjängs Stora Sprinter on July 12 the fastest of his career, but the 1:08.5 time (1:50.1 mile rate) crushed the previous track record by more than a second. He faced intense pressure throughout the 1640-meter race and ultimately bested the classy 2021 Elitlopp winner Don Fanucci Zet by a narrow margin. The victory by Gio Cash was also his second straight over his rival as he defeated him at 2140 meters on June 14. “This is a horse that has been racing at the top level as a 2-, 3- and 4-year-old, then he had some problems as a 5-year-old. Now he is back in good shape. He has always been a talented horse,” said Wäjersten on Gio Cash’s recent form spree. Gio Cash, a career winner of 15 races in 28 starts and $617,767, came to the Wäjersten barn for his 2025 campaign and is already closing in on the best season ever. The trainer admitted that he really didn’t change anything on the son of Victor Gio to revive him. “He’s a super horse. We just made him the same level as he was when he was young,” said Wäjersten. A question with any International horse arriving at Yonkers Raceway is how they will handle the tighter turns of the half-mile track (800 meters). Wäjersten revealed that both of his horse’s recent wins came over a 1,000-meter surface with tight turns that can be a bit difficult for some horses. He also added that Gio Cash has a very smooth gait that makes it easy for him to trot over any track. For the 35-year-old Wäjersten, the trip will be his first to New York, though he has been to the now defunct Pompano Park and The Red Mile on previous occasions. It will be a special experience for him as well as the ownership group of Carpe Diem Stable. “I’m looking forward to the race and the experience for all the owners and the groom,” said Wäjersten. Gio Cash will have one more start in Sweden prior to shipping to the United States about a week ahead of the MGM Yonkers International Trot. He joins the previously announced Hohneck as the first two starters for the $1,000,000 event. Additional invitees will be announced in the coming weeks as track officials prepare for the MGM Yonkers International Trot. The special afternoon card will also feature a pair of $200,000 Invitationals for older trotters and pacers. MGM Yonkers Raceway is currently operating on a Monday-Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday live racing schedule with post time each night at 6:45 p.m.

Yonkers, NY — Jiggy Jog S, a familiar face to the North American racing scene but representing Sweden, where she was bred, improved from second in last year’s MGM Yonkers International Trot to first in this year’s $1 million edition on Saturday (September 7) afternoon, prevailing for driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Ake Svanstedt in 2:25 flat for the mile and a quarter distance. Canadian representative Logan Park (Doug McNair), got away well from post five, but Dunn wanted the front with Jiggy Jog S and moved her out of second to take over the lead beyond the :29.3 opening quarter. Jiggy Jog was well-rated and didn’t face any outside pressure through a sensible tempo of :58.2 and 1:27.2 while Hail Mary S (Orjan Kihlstrom), another Swedish representative, went first-up from fifth on the way to three-quarters, giving cover to the United States’ Periculum (Scott Zeron). Hail Mary S couldn’t really make any progress on the rim towards the 1:55.4 mile marker, and that allowed Jiggy Jog to get separation on the others as Periculum went three-wide early on the last turn. There was no catching Jiggy Jog S, though, as she kept clear and allowed Dunn to raise his whip in celebration through the stretch. Periculum, coming off a victory in the Maple Leaf Trot a week ago, was a good second, 3 1/2 lengths behind Jiggy Jog, and France’s Ideal San Leandro (Bjorn Goop) got third. Logan Park held fourth from United States representative It’s Academic (David Miller). “She’s an amazing mare. It’s always a pleasure to sit behind her. For her to win a race like that just adds to her great career,” Dunn said following the race. “She’s been in such great form. I talked to Ake and Sarah before the race, and they were confident that she could go on the front today against these ones, but it was always going to be up to seeing what happened early. There was a bit of speed from outside and a little bit from inside, but she left so well herself. Once the option was there to re-move and go to the front, we took that chance. We got pretty good fractions after that. I was sort of waiting for a bit more pressure the middle of the race, but she was strong. “She was a good and clear second last year, but she was only a 4-year-old mare then. It’s always a big step up when they finish their 3-year-old year and in their 4-year-old year they’ve got to race the open horses. She’s just got so much stronger and bigger and mentally tougher this year. You’ll see she’s been raced pretty lightly so far. Ake and Sarah have been taking their time and not racing her too much to make sure she’s there at the end of the year for the Breeders Crown. It’s a fun ride to be on. It’s always fun to sit behind her, and we’ll be looking forward to that for the rest of the year.” A 5-year-old daughter of Walner bred by Vestmarka AB, Jiggy Jog S is co-owned by Svanstedt in partnership with Steve Stewart, John Lengacher and Hickory Hollow Stables. She has a summary of 23-10-2 from 40 starts, has put away $2,970,391 and paid $3.70 to win as the favorite. She was atop a $16 exacta and a $316 trifecta. “Those races are never easy. She has kind of peaked the last couple of days,” remarked Sarah Svanstedt. “She was a little bit tired after the Cashman and the Pocono race, too, actually. It’s tough when you have those kind of plans you have to follow and you can’t really give a week or two more off – it’s tricky. I was so satisfied with her in the last turn. She’s tremendous. “Maybe the Caesar’s Classic or Lexington (are next). We’ll have to see how she gets out of this race to start with.” While Stewart is known more on the breeding side of the sport through his Hunterton Farms, he said that he hopes Jiggy Jog has plenty of more racing to do before she becomes a broodmare.  “I told Cindy (his wife) that I hope three years from now people come to us and say ‘will you please take that damn filly and breed her?’ I told all of our partners we have enough broodmares. We don’t need another one at the moment, as long as she can compete at this level, and she appears to have a lot of fun with it,” Stewart stated. “Ake and Sarah, I think, don’t own a lot of broodmares, and so I think that their dream is to probably race her for many, many years, and that’s our dream, is to continue racing. What an opportunity and I think it’s good for the sport.”

In this exclusive interview with Jenny Sundin, Hail Mary's groom discusses the Swedish star's journey to and chances in Saturday's $1M MGM Yonkers International Trot.

In the lead-up to Saturday's $1M MGM Yonkers International Trot, Kristin Riise Odegard sat down with Dylan Garcia, the groom and best friend of France's Eclat de Glorie.