by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — Eight divisions of 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings will be on display in the $132,000 New York Sires Stakes and the $63,500 Excelsior Series at Monticello Raceway on Thursday afternoon (July 11).

Of the eight events for the New York-breds there will be three divisions of New York Sires Stakes, each racing for a purse of $44,000, and five $12,700 splits of Excelsior Series trots. In all, 14 races are on tap that day.

The Monticello events are the second leg in the season-long Sires Stakes series for freshman trotting colts and geldings, which will culminate in a $225,000 final at Yonkers Raceway later this year.

The first stop was at Buffalo Raceway on June 30 and now the winners of events there are making their way here for the competitions.

Arguably the best of the crop, at least early on, appears to be The Lindy Treaty, whose 2:01.2 victory at Buffalo was an eye-opening performance. The Conway Hall-Peace A Pie colt will be the one to beat in the second NYSS split — race 11 — when trainer/driver Ray Schnittker gets up behind him. They will leave from post eight. The colt is owned by Schnittker and the Lindy Treaty Stable.

Among his competition is Izzy Jokin, an altered son of RC Royalty-Graduation Party, who was a 2:05.2 NYSS winner for Chris Lems at Buffalo for owners Albert and Michelle Crawford and James A. Crawford IV. George Ducharme trains and Lems will again drive when the colt starts from the pole position.

Lems and Ducharme will team-up again in the third NYSS division — race 12 on the card — when they send out My Friend Charley, who Lems guided to a 2:01.3 triumph last week at Buffalo. The RC Royalty-Sand Moxie gelding is owned by Paul Fontaine and will leave from the three hole.

Arguably the softest of the three NYSS splits is the first division, race six on the card. All eight colts in the contest are non-winners of a pari-mutuel race although Andrea Pratt and Jimmy Wittemore’s Flyhawk El Durado was second to The Lindy Treaty at Buffalo, individually clocked in 2:02.2. Jimmy Wittemore trains and will drive the Conway Hall-El Paso Gal colt when they leave from the seven hole.

The undercard will feature five Excelsior Series freshman trots and local railbirds will get to see Hall of Famer’s Cat Manzi, John Campbell and Jim Doherty, along with Jimmy Morrill, Jr. and Jason Bartlett, among others, in various NYSS events on Thursday.

Post time for the first of 14 races will be at 12:50 p.m.