by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — On August 22, Monticello Raceway will be offering $62,800 in overnight purses on its Sunday afternoon racing card. That total marks the most purse money offered on a single race program that does not include stakes races in many decades.

“Actually, that might be our biggest overnight purse total ever,” noted the Mighty M track general manager Shawn Wiles.

Highlighting Sunday’s card will be two $15,000 pacing features and a 10,000 pacing co-feature.

Paul John Spada’s West Gun, a 1:50¹ winner at Rockingham Park on July 17, will be the one they’ll be gunning for in the featured $15,000 winners over $7,500 in their last six. Going as race eight on the 11 race program, Mike Forte will be in the sulky for trainer Joe Guarino when the Village Jove horse starts from post six.

Blue Chip Partners’ Ascending, a 1:56² winner at Yonkers Raceway in his last start, is the early line favorite in the other $15,000 pacing feature for winners over $7,000 in their last six starts, which will go as race eight. Greg Merton will handle the driving chores behind the four-year-old Camluck mare for trainer Bob Horowitz.

The $10,000 pace for winners over $6,000 in their last six features four local sidewheelers, but Martin Scharf’s Highest Authority, a 1:55⁴ winner at Flamboro Downs on July 27, gets the nod as morning line favorite. Mark Beckwith will be in the sulky for trainer Mark Ford when the six-year-old Jate Lobell horse starts from post position four in the fourth race on the card.

Also on the undercard is a $4,200 purse for winners over $5,000 life and a $3,700 purse for non-winners of $405 per start.

Alan Cohen’s Wise Guy, one of the top local pacers over the past few seasons, will be the one to beat in the former while Antonio Grillo’s Life Is A Cabernet gets the odds-makers nod in the latter.

Post time for the Sunday card is 1:10 p.m.