More on nighttime racing. With the spread of racinos and the increase in horse tracks as destinations (the Stronach model), night racing just makes a lot of sense. Much like people not going to casinos during the day, why not make the ponies part of a night out? That is a model that works at many smaller tracks in the region, Charles Town and Penn National, but those tracks are further removed from the big urban centers. So the question arises, can race tracks compete in a crowded space for recreational dollars? The good people at Churchill Downs are trying and the rest of us will just need to wait and see.
Picks for July 20, 2019:
Hotter. More humid. Monmouth is the only regional track running today. Mick hopes they have enough ice blankets.
Monmouth Race 12 – Haskell Stakes G1
By the 5:47 post time, temperatures should have come off of their highs but it will still be tough. Most are billing this as a rematch of the Pegasus Stakes where 1-King for a Day beat 7-Maximum Security and, as a result, was king for a day. This is not that day and the overall quality of this field is much better. 2-Joevia ran on for a piece of the Belmont Stakes and would have been the winner of that one had the distance been today’s 9f. In addition, he has two wins over this strip but both times were in the slop. 5-Mucho Gusto makes the trip across the country for trainer Bob Baffert who knows how to win big races. This one appears to be a solid G3 horse but is he up to a G1? His running style may help if the pace is hot and he can stalk and pounce. Pace will make this race so Mick will lay it out. 1-King for a Day and 7-Maximum Security get destroyed in a pace duel along with the 3 and 4. 2-Joevia tracks the pace and gets first jump but 5-Mucho Gusto rolls by in the lane holding off the belated challenge of 6-Everfast.
$10 W/P/S 5-Mucho Gusto
$2 Exacta box 5,6
$1 Trifecta box 2,5,6
$0.10 Superfecta box 2,5,6,7
Mick’s Quickie’s
Monmouth Race 5 – Oceanport Stakes G3: 6-Just Howard has been knocking. Today the G3 door opens and lets him in.
Monmouth Race 8 – Molly Pitcher Stakes G3: 3-Midnight Bisou should dismantle this group. Even at short money, she just never runs a bad race.
Monmouth Race 10 – Monmouth Cup G3: 3-Coal Front vs 4-Monogahela. Shouldn’t this match up take place in Pennsylvania? Distance favors the 4.
Monmouth Race 11 – Matchmaker Stakes G3: 2-I’m So Fancy springs the upset by tracking the early speed and getting up in time.
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