Morrill and Monti in heavyweight battle Wednesday at Batavia Downs

by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

Batavia, NY — The dash driving lead has been a hotly contested issue this meet at Batavia Downs and the lead has changed hands several times. But recently, Jim Morrill Jr. and Drew Monti have separated themselves from the pack and have been pulling away nightly.

That rivalry continued on Wednesday (Nov. 9) as Jim Morrill Jr. won five races on the card while Drew Monti won four. And the wins could have gone either way during the night as the two finished a close one-two in races one, three, seven and 12.

Morrill won with American Anthem ($6.50, 1:57.1), Connery Blue Chip ($5.90, 1:59), Weapon To Win ($5.70, 1:58.3), Olivia’s Z Tam ($5.10, 1:58.3) and Charmschooldropout ($2.30, 1:58.3).

Monti won with Niche Blue Chip ($6.20, 1:59.3), Jimi Wind Ricks ($9.50, 1:59.4), Court’s N Session ($22.40, 1:59.3) and Don’t Sweat My Swag ($17.80, 1:59).

Besides winning at a remarkable rate over the last several weeks, both drivers have also exhibited a lofty UDR during that time as well. Wednesday night, with each driving in 11 out of the 12 races on the card, they both hit the board nine times. Morrill’s UDR was .616 and Monti’s was .576.

After Wednesday’s action, Morrill is the current dash leader with 94 wins, five ahead of Monti who is sitting in second with 89. Kevin Cummings and Ray Fisher Jr. are tied for a distant third with 68 victories to their credit.

With 16 nights of racing remaining in the 2016 season, the all-time track record of 177 wins during the meet set by Morrill in 2006 looks safe. However the heated competition between these top two titans for this year’s laurels will more than likely go down to the final night.

Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Friday (Nov. 11) with post time at 6:15 p.m. There is a $550 carryover for the early Pick-5 on Friday (races one through five) and that pool will be guaranteed at $1,500.

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