Ultimate Fighting Championship star Charles Oliveira has driven at MGM Yonkers Raceway twice and has been victorious on both occasions after he posted a 1:57.1 win with "Bronx Miracle" in the Oliveira v. Tetrick Team Challenge exhibition race on Friday night (May 8).
After defeating Tim Tetrick in a match race back in 2021, Oliveira returned to Yonkers on Friday to captain a team that also included Pat Lachance, Yannick Gingras and Dan Dube against a team with Tetrick, Jordan Stratton, Jason Bartlett and Lauren Tritton.
Oliveira, who was second in a pari-mutuel race at Pocono on Tuesday, got away in the pocket behind Bartlett in tonight's event and then moved to the lead past the 29.4 quarter-mile marker. From there, Oliveira and "Bronx Miracle" kept the lead through the half in 1:00 and three-quarters in 1:28 before they closed in 29.1 to win over Bartlett and Stratton.
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"I'm so happy. I don't have the words to explain how happy I am," Oliveira said via translator to the United States Trotting Association's Wendy Ross. "I have to say thank you to everyone. I love horses and I love to be here."
"Any time you can get a champion in the business of harness racing it's special, and [Oliveira] represents himself so well," Tetrick added when interviewed by Ross.
Following the race, donations and check presentations were made to charities. The Standardbred Owners Association of New York gave $5,000 to Oliveira's Instituto Charles do Bronx in Brazil and the Tunnels to Towers Foundation received $2,500 from the American Harness Drivers Club.
--press release (Yonkers)--