An interview with Jason Bartlett on a key new rule change at Yonkers
The 2025 Dan Patch Driver of the Year and Yonkers dash winner talks about a memo which states that effective opening night 2026 (Jan. 19), penalties ranging from warnings to fines to lengthy race day suspensions will be imposed on drivers who set 30-second, second quarters.
by Brett Sturman
I’ve seen the Yonkers Raceway memo floating around that states the expected pace should be nothing slower than 30 seconds for second quarters along with a list of penalties for those that fail to adhere to the rule. As leading driver at the track and someone who wins many of those races on the front end, I’d think the new rule impacts Jason Bartlett as much as anyone. So, I reached out for a conversation.
My own initial reaction is mandating how drivers manage pace in a race isn’t a role of the track, but even more so, I’m not sure how it’s going to help. The track has already done away with the passing lane in hopes that it would force drivers to pull earlier and that hasn’t happened – I think the track just naturally lends itself to lineup-style racing. But readers of this column would be more interested in what Bartlett has to say on the subject.
Jason, what’s your take on the new rule?
“I like the rule. For a half-mile track it’s very hard to do a lot of work on the outside. Saratoga is a half and Yonkers is a half, and you can drive Saratoga totally differently than you can Yonkers. At Saratoga you can pull at the three-eighths pole and do some work on the outside and live to tell about it. And also at Saratoga, you can tip three-wide down the backside. At Yonkers on the other hand, if you’re pulling at the three-eighths pole you better both have a damn good horse and the horse on the front better not be great in order for him to come first over and win or be second. At Yonkers, a lot of us like to pull as late as possible because, you know, you’re coming into a faster third quarter and for them to do that on the outside from the five-eighths home, they’ve still got to be pretty good first over. Whatever the reason for it is, time and time again, you move early at Yonkers and your results are just not great.
I completely agree with those points and – whether it be the track configuration or other things – Yonkers has proven to be a very difficult track to race on the outside through multiple turns. But how will this new rule help against that?
“Because I think a lot of times you know the horses are leaving and they get :27 for the first quarter and then they’re able to back it down all the way to the five-eighths pole, and then they’re back on the pedal again. With them keeping the race going a little bit, I think that it might bring in the back horses some more, because they’re going to have to keep the pace a lot more honest than usual. And for a driver – it’s really going to be up to the driver of how much he trusts himself knowing what 30 seconds is in that second quarter, especially with factoring in things like the wind. So, I think you’re going to find a lot quicker halves than normal because the guys are going to be just a little bit skeptical of going a :29.4, within a fifth of a second of getting fined or more.”
What about the difference in needing that 30 seconds in the second quarter depending on how hard your horse has been used early? Shouldn’t there be a difference in how that second quarter gets treated when it comes to making the early lead easily compared to being parked to the quarter in :27 and change?
“But you can’t also jam up a field that’s behind you because you got stung. Where we’re having a problem is saying, ‘Okay, you got stung, but yes, but there’s still six or seven other guys behind you getting jammed up.’ And now we’re forced to come at the three-eighths pole, which we know is not a recipe for good results. So, then you’re forced to pull but now you’re going to be stuck out and the horse on the lead is still going to get a breather because if that horse on the outside comes hard then he’s going to get cooked. So, now you’re back to getting another breather to the five-eighths pole again.”
It’s tough. I think the passing lane would also help with this rule a little bit. Because if I’m letting a guy go – say that I want a 2-hole trip and I’m letting a guy go – I still don’t want to take him a quick quarter because now I know he has to go at least 30 seconds. So, when am I going to be able to race my horse out of the 2-hole, am I going to have to pull early? We might not make that guy work hard to the quarter because we still want a chance to race with no passing lane. With the passing lane, I think that might push the pace a little bit more but that’s a whole other topic. As a driver, letting a guy go, you still have to think. It has to play a part in letting someone go and how much you want to take them, if you’re going to take them. Without the passing lane, that still throws a little bit of a ‘what if’ for the drivers. And for argument’s sake, the 2-hole trip is becoming a potentially not very good spot to be in. Now, the 3-hole seems like it might be alright to be in and come first over or something. There’s a couple of more aspects than just the 30 seconds that have to come into play here. You mentioned the wind earlier. The rule is being listed as 30 seconds across the board, but what if there are differences in winds from night to night? What about differences in gaits and classes and track conditions – 30 seconds to one group might be much different than 30 seconds to another.
“It’s a track rule and not a judge’s rule. But I think the big one is going to be the wind. Variation in the wind catches us a lot there. Lately we’ve been going a lot more 30 second quarters than usual, but it’s been really windy and that plays a part. A couple of nights, too, the track guy had the track a little deeper than usual because it was so cold out and he didn’t want the track to freeze on us. But I don’t think you can go entirely by the variant either because a lot of times even if it’s windy the track is still fast. Drivers being able to know the 30 seconds with those conditions will all be part of the strategy, like letting horses go, or if there’s two leads what happens then? If a horse gets hung three wide, he’s now pot committed so he has to keep rolling. All these things might be able to bring in the back horses more.
“Overall, I do think something needs to happen, and it might not be perfect but at least it’s a start. I think it’s a good rule because I know a lot of us drivers — and we all do it – we all come with the same conclusion that something does need to happen. Because we all abuse the 30 seconds at times and so I think as a whole, as a driver group, we’re all on board that something needs to happen. Is it perfect? Probably not. It will probably take some tinkering, maybe with the conditions and things. I’m really on board with it. I think it could make the racing a little bit better. We need to bring in the back horses more somehow, and this is maybe the start of something that could help do that.”
