by John Manzi, for the NAADA and Catskill Amateur Club
Monticello, NY — Two divisions of the ninth and next to last leg of the North American Amateur Drivers Association’s summer trotting series were contested at Monticello Raceway on the hot and steamy afternoon of Thursday (Aug. 11) with Dr. John Kokinos and Alan Schwartz each victorious in their respective divisions.
Kokinos won his split with Cassa’s Image in a 1:57 clocking while Schwartz copped the other with Imacrazynewyorker in 1:59.
In the Catskill Amateur Driver Club’s pacing series, which has been running concurrently with the NAADA trots, Hannah Miller emerged victorious, reining Stoman home first in a 1:57.1 clocking.
Both Stoman and Imacrazynewyorker are trained by John Hallett.
In his split Schwartz took no prisoners and went down the road from the pole position with Imacrazynewyorker and they made every pole a winning one en route to a one length victory over Paul Minore and Wygant Prince. Lou Lou’s Princess finished third for Hannah Miller.
The winner is owned by Hallett and Oglesby and trained by John Hallett. He paid $4.40 for win.
Kokinos romped in his division with Cassa’s Image when confusion behind them on the first turn allowed them to gain an insurmountable lead and they cruised to an easy five length victory in a 1:57 clocking. Upfront N Crazy was second best for Tony Verruso while Paul Minore and Zoli took home the show dough.
The winner, owned by the Hero Stable, returned a $14.60 win mutuel.
In the lone Catskill Club Pace, the sport’s current leading amateur driver, Hannah Miller, didn’t get nervous after being parked, relaxed her charge and then eased her pacer, Stoman, to the front nearing the halfway point and from there it was Katey bar the door as Stoman cruised to a three length triumph. Fly To The Angels, a 37-1 shot, finished second for Allen Cisco and KB’s Bad Boy finished third for Barry Addison.
John Hallett trains the winner for owner Jason MacDougall. Stoman paid $4.40.
On Wednesday (Aug. 10) at the Wayne County (Pa.) Fair ‘Hurricane Hannah’ drove Pierce to a stunning 24 length pacing victory in a time of 1:58.4. The talented miss now has 24 wins, 14 seconds and six thirds in 92 seasonal starts good for a .407 UDR.
Next Thursday, upon the completion of the NAADA Series at the Mighty M, the top three drivers with the most points in the series will be in a drawing with the winner earning an all-expense paid trip to New Zealand to compete against their amateur counterparts there. Leaders include Hannah Miller (52), Alan Schwartz (48), Tony Ciufettelli (46), Peter Kleinhans (40) and Tony Verruso (36).