From HarnessLink (Yonkers Raceway Media, published 9 May 2026)
Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous) had to work to get to the front, but once he got there, he never relinquished control, winning Friday night’s (May 8) Grade 2 $478,000 MGM Borgata Pacing Series final at MGM Yonkers Raceway over the mile and a quarter distance in 2:21.4 for driver Todd McCarthy and trainer Noel Daley.
Donegal Luther N (Yannick Gingras) hustled out from post three and was able to get around post one starter and favorite Coaches Corner (Jason Bartlett) past the start. Meanwhile, McCarthy floated away with Captain Albano and wound up on the rim, remaining in that position past the 28.4 quarter that was cut by Donegal Luther N. After that station, Captain Albano was still two-wide as Donegal Luther N was fired-up on the front-end, but Captain Albano did clear passing the 56.4 half as Gingras was finally able to coax Donegal Luther N into releasing him.
The key to Captain Albano’s eventual victory was likely the 29.1 third quarter that McCarthy was able to rate after Captain Albano forged his way to the front, and that left him plenty of steam to deal with a first-over challenge from Coaches Corner as Donegal Luther N began to back away from the pocket. Captain Albano would get separation on the others going to the 1:53.4 mile marker, kept clear around the final bend, and although both a second-over Huntinthelastdolar (Dexter Dunn) and Coaches Corner made gains in the lane, it wasn’t enough as Captain Albano hit the wire a length in front of Huntinthelastdolar.
Coaches Corner, Mossdale Ben N (Jim Marohn Jr.) and Redwood Hanover (Tim Tetrick) completed the top five.
“Once Coaches Corner got crossed over there early, I figured if I could just kind of make my way there steady I’d probably end up on top. It took a little longer than I hoped,” McCarthy remarked about his strategy. “Donegal Luther N was racing a little aggressive early, and it just took Yannick a second to get him settled down. Once we straightened in the backstretch, I asked my horse to go on and he paced right around. He definitely showed his guts tonight.
“I managed to get a little breather once I found the top. Once they came, I kind of wanted to step on the gas. I don’t like them to get too close to him. He gave me a really good feel down the backstretch, and I felt like I still had a lot of horse under me. It’s just a real credit to Noel and the team and what they’ve been able to do with him throughout this series.”
Daley trains Captain Albano, a 5-year-old Captaintreacherous stallion, for owners Patricia Stables LLC., L. A. Express Stable LLC., Sjoblom Racing Inc. and Michael Dolan. He has a summary of 29-8-4 from 51 appearances, has pocketed $2,4710,323 and paid $5.24 to win as the 8-5 second choice.
