by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway
Monticello, NY — The Caretakers Classic was only an exhibition race, but try to tell that to the five grooms who drove in it. To say they were out for blood would be an overstatement, but nevertheless each groom certainly wanted to win.
After a very interesting stretch drive, Jeff Branning, up behind Northern Raucous, outdueled John Oney, Sr. and Georgie’s Orgy to score a 2:11.4 triumph in a race contested in jog carts without the use of whips. Constance Lawrence rallied late on the far outside with We Shall See N to finish third.
Geri Schwarz photo
A happy Jeff Branning accepts the trophy presented by Shawn Wiles.
Branning has been a caretaker for the John Stubits Stable since the early 1980s, while Oney has been a longtime groom in the Frank Yanoti Barn. Lawrence works in the Peter Stratton Stable.
Oney and Georgie’s Orgy set the pace from the pole position and Branning stalked them with Northern Raucous until the five-eighths pole, at which point he moved his pacer and ranged alongside the leader. From there the two raced as a team around the final turn and through the stretch in what turned out to be a great battle all the way to the wire.
Though the caretakers race wasn’t programmed, the crowd still got into it because it ended up being an exciting horse race where the winner didn’t emerge until the final strides.
“I was an also eligible last year and didn’t get a chance to race so I really wanted to win this time,” Branning told Shawn Wiles, the track’s assistant general manager, who presented the trophy. “Me and John (Oney) were rockin’ our jog carts in the stretch and my horse finally got the best of his just before the finish.”
Daniel Houghtaling, from the Gary Campbell Stable, finished fourth and after making a break at the start, Cody Houghtaling, from the Vernon James Barn, finished fifth and last with Bay Street.
The Caretakers Classic is a series of two races for grooms with the second edition slated for Thursday afternoon (September 22). That event will also go to post after the fifth race on the card.