by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — It’ll be action galore on Sunday afternoon (August 1) when Monticello Raceway presents a 13 race program which will feature the $110,000 New York Sires Stakes for two-year-old pacing fillies, a $15,000 open pace and the Legal Eagle Pace, a race in which all the horses will be driven by practicing attorneys who sometimes double as harness drivers.

Four divisions of freshman pacing fillies, each racing for $27,825 purses, will go as races three, five, seven and eight on the card. The events are the second leg on the road to the $150,000 finale which will be raced in mid-September. Only the top eight fillies who have earned the most points in the preliminaries contested at the various New York State racetracks will earn a berth in the rich final.

Arguably the best split is race five in which the daughters of Magical Mike –Venus Blue Chip, Chapeau, and So Are You Hanover — go head to head. All three fillies already sport 1:57 race records. Venus Blue Chip has drawn post three and will have Joe Pavia, Jr. at the controls; Chapeau will start from post four and be driven by Jeff Gregory; while Joshua Marks will handle So Are You Hanover when she leaves from post eight.

Sunday kicks off the first Mighty M $15,000 open pace, which will go as race 10 and feature Glen Mark Lucky, one of the best older pacers currently competing. Mark Beckwith will be in the sulky behind the six-year-old Camluck pacer who already has won 10 races and over $100,000 in purses this year. Glen Mark Lucky comes into the event with a three race win streak including a stunning 1:52⁴ victory over Yonkers Raceway’s double oval in his last start. He’ll start from post eight.

But many eyes will be on the Mighty M’s Legal Eagle Pace III which will be presented as race number two. Eight barristers will trade their law books for a perch behind a spirited pacer and compete for the bragging rights as the best lawyer driver.

Among the attorneys competing include previous Legal Eagle pace winners Joe Faraldo and George Casale. Both lawyers won divisions of the Legal Eagle Pace II back in 1999.

Faraldo handles Four Starzzzz Fair from post one and figures to be among the ones to beat.

“I’ve got the rail and I’m going down the trail,” said Faraldo, whose 107 career driving victories is the most of any lawyer competing. “It’ll be a case of catch me if you can and I don’t expect to be caught.”

Lawyers comprising the field in the Legal Eagle Pace in post position order and including where they practice are: Joe Faraldo, Kew Gardens, New York; Sam Caruso, Jr., Rochester, New York; Kenny Weckstein, Great Falls, Virginia; Larry Farley, Toledo, Ohio; Howard Taylor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lucien Bartlette, Saratoga Springs, New York; David Carbonaro, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and George Casale, Brooklyn, New York.

Driving assignments, like post positions, were drawn by lot.