By @TheDailyPayoff

YONKERS, NY – The Fall will bring not only the return of chillier temps, but one of the most elite harness racing events, Yonkers Raceway executives announced Tuesday.

Missing for nearly 20 years, the International Trot, featuring top horses from around the world, was last run at Yonkers in 1995 and won by Sweden’s His Majesty and heralds a return to one of the richest purses in harness racing.

The race is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, Oct. 10, and the seven-figure purse would be Yonkers’ second-ever million-dollar race (2007 Art Rooney Pace, won by Southwind Lynx), said Yonkers officials.

 “It’s our pleasure to bring back the International Trot,” Raceway president Timothy J. Rooney said. “It’s been a signature New York race since it debuted at Roosevelt Raceway back in 1959. We took over the race after Roosevelt closed, and it was very well received.

 “With Yonkers now a major player in the overseas simulcast market, we feel this is the best time to showcase our track to the world by again inviting the best trotters in the world to race here. We have had tremendous cooperation from our horsemen, and all of us are looking forward to it.”

The return of the International Trot has been discussed for years, gaining momentum with the success of last season’s International Trot Preview. That race, contested at a mile-and-a-quarter, was won by Natural Herbie (Verlin Yoder) in a world-record 2:24.4.

 The 1 1/4 mile race will feature 10 horses and a $1 million purse.

The purse distribution (same as all events) will see the winner get 50 percent, second place 25 percent, third place 12 percent, fourth place eight percent and fifth place five percent.

Those overseas horses out of the top five will receive $37,500 purse supplements , while North American horses out of the top five will receive $10,000.