by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — Since its inception in 2003, Monticello Raceway’s Lady Godiva Pace, which is exclusively for women drivers, had always been presented on or near Valentine’s Day in February. Unfortunately, the race had to be postponed then, but it will now be presented on Monday afternoon (May 14).

“We chose the date of May 14th because it’s just a day after Mother’s Day and we thought it would be a good time to feature the women drivers,” noted Eric Warner, the raceway’s director of racing.

This year the Lady Godiva Pace will be the fourth preliminary leg of the track’s Heritage Drivers Series. It follows the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Pace for African-American drivers, the St. Paddy Pace for drivers of Irish descent and the recently completed Passover Pace for drivers of Jewish heritage.

At one time filling a race for the ladies was a tough chore since most of the gentler sex didn’t drive very often. But things have certainly changed over the years and there is a growing number of women who enjoy racing harness horses, especially since the inception of the Mildred Williams Series a few years ago.

Some of the most famous women drivers who have competed in North America are the long-retired Bea Farber, the forever youthful Jackie Ingrassia and, of course, the Canadian pioneer Mildred Williams.

Though Farber hasn’t driven competitively since 1995 she still leads the pack with 1,801 winners while Ingrassia is the reigning queen with 1,078 driving victories. And Williams, with more than 500 wins during the 1950s and 1960s, was instrumental in getting the United States Trotting Association and the Canadian Trotting Association to license women to drive in harness races.

Betsy Phillips, whose 550 driving victories ranks her among the winningest of female drivers in North America, has been the queen of women drivers here at the Mighty M.

The race is open to all female drivers who hold at least a provisional license from the United States Trotting Association and the winner will represent the ladies in the series finale — dubbed the All America Cup — later this fall.

For further information, or to participate, interested parties are urged to contact Warner by calling the track’s race office at 845.794.4100, ext. 557, or they can contact the raceway’s publicity office at ext. 455.