by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — He doesn’t hail from the Munich area of Germany but Wilhelm (Wim) Paal, from the northwestern section of Germany, will be a great addition to Monticello Raceway’s Munich Mile — the race for drivers of German heritage — when the Mighty M presents that event on Monday afternoon (July 30).

“We’ve got the real McCoy in Wim,” said Eric Warner, the track’s director of racing, referring to Paal being German. “It’s not often that we get a chance to get a foreign driver for any of our Heritage Drivers Series races.”

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Wilhelm (Wim) Paal will drive in Monticello Raceway’s Munich Mile.

Born in Goch, Germany, Paal says his home track is in Gelsonkirchen, a city of more than 270,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia but for the past 25 years he’s been living in and successfully racing in Italy where he has been prolific with trotters.

“Of course I’ve raced throughout Germany and raced for many years in France,” Paal said via a telephone conversation. “And I’ve raced horses here in America in the past, also.”

“He (Paal) raced a colt by the name of Broadway Marquis in the Breeders Crown a few years back and he’s hoping to have another colt that could compete again this season,” Warner added. “He’s here in the states driving trotters for Henrik Lundell and Kim Jeannont and recently made an appearance at the Mighty M driving in a New York Sires Stakes trot.”

It’s a known fact that all Standardbred racing in Europe is for only trotters.

“Did you ever drive a pacer?” Warner asked Paal.

”Never.”

“Well you will on July 30 in our Munich Mile because it’ll be a race for pacers.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to it,” Paal said.

Paal has raced sparingly in the U.S. during the 2007 and 2008 campaigns and has 12 winners to his credit, three of which came this season in just 13 starts.

A true and accomplished horseman, Paal will face some seasoned American veterans in the Munich Mile in Greg Merton, Jimmy Marohn and Mike Merton, all of whom have some German blood in their ancestry.

“I’ll be looking forward to meeting those gentlemen when I go back to Monticello,” Paal said. “I’m anxious to drive a pacer in a race. I’ve trained them before but on Monday I’ll get a chance to drive one in a race.”