Hamburg, NY — Drew Monti is quickly becoming Mr. Saturday afternoon at Buffalo Raceway. Last week was a memorable one for Monti as he collected his 3,000th career driving win. While this Saturday (June 13) wasn’t a big milestone, he sure was impressive and made another imprint at Buffalo Raceway as he won five times on the program and swept both the $14,700 Open Pace and Trot events, each in gate-to-wire fashion.
First off, Monti steered Marvellous Mac A ($3.04) to a 1-1/2-lengths victory over Stormalong in 1:55, equaling his lifetime mark. A pair of races later, he guided Valentine Express ($6.80) to a solid 2-1/4-lengths score over Shine All The Way in 1:56.4, tying his seasonal best. Monti was also aboard Dine With Kings ($12.28), Lip Reader A ($3.88) and Make My Deo ($2.64), the horse that gave him his 3,000th career victory last week.
In the Open Pace, Marvellous Mac A, after a pair of second place finishes, righted the ship as he cut the mile, setting fractions of :28, :58 and 1:26.4 over the fast track. Turning for the wire, Marvellous Mac A enjoyed a 1-1/2-lengths edge over the pocket sitting Stormalong (Brett MacDonald). But down the lane, Marvellous Mac A stayed strong as Storalong had no answers and couldn’t cut into the lead. Bet On Buter (Michael Whelan) was third.
Owned by Vogel & Wags Nags LLC, Team Rice Racing and Dr. Michael Miller, the Maria Rice-trained Marvellous Mac A (Roll With Joe-Glee Bromac) has now won four times in 13 starts on the season. The victory upped his 2026 earnings to $46,311 and to $105,643 lifetime.
The Open Trot was another uneventful journey for Monti as he guided Valentine Express to an easy front-running victory. Starting from the rail, Valentine Express cruised through splits of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27.2 enroute to the nod over Shine All The Way (MacDonald). El Toro Loco (Kevin Cummings), the post time favorite, was third.
Owned by Rock 01 Stable Inc. and conditioned by Jerry Nugent Jr., it was the third victory in 10 attempts on the campaign for Valentine Express. He has now produced $26,695 in earnings on the year and $363,440 in his career.
Besides Monti’s heroics, Kevin Cummings had a four-bagger and MacDonald two. Rice finished the card with two training wins.
Racing will continue on Wednesday afternoon with a 13-race program set. There’s an $853 carryover in the Pick 5 which begins in the second race.
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