by harness publicists across North America

Thursday’s (June 19) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Monticello Raceway, Harrah’s Philadelphia, Vernon Downs and Saratoga Casino and Raceway.

Jimmy Taggart Jr. wins five more Thursday at Monticello

Monticello, NY — Jimmy Taggart, Jr. drove five more winners on Thursday (June 19) at Monticello Raceway after reining four here yesterday. On Wednesday four of Taggart’s wins came from the Gary Messenger barn and today (Thursday) three more were harnessed by Messenger.

Geri Schwarz photo

Jimmy Taggart, Jr.

Now with 94 driving victories Taggart is fourth in races won on the local leaderboard but no one is currently as hot as he is.

Taggart began the day with a 2:01.4 front- end victory with Blameless, a 3-year-old Crazed gelding owned by Dr. Scott Woogen and Brenda Messenger. The good looking trotter from the Gary Messenger barn notched his second lifetime victory and paid $2.30 for win.

Then beginning in the fifth race Taggart went on a tear with three consecutive victories, two of which were trained by Messenger.

In the fifth Taggart guided Brenda Messenger’s sophomore trotting colt Enzo Pezza to the 2:02.2 come-from behind score and returned a $13.20 win mutuel.

Taggart then won the sixth race with Bob Petitto’s veteran trotter Stay All Day ($5.40) in a time of 2:02.1 and then scored his third victory for Gary Messenger when he guided Putnam’s Art home first in 1:57.1. Sent off the favorite in the race, the pacer, a 6-year-old Southwind Balsam gelding owned by Brenda Messenger and Dr. Scott Woogen, paid $4.90 for win.

Win number five on the card came in the 10th and final race when Taggart sat the pocket and rallied down the passing lane to score a 1:57.3 victory with the Dennis Laterza owned and trained, Lola’s Cruiser. It was the 6-year-old Yankee Cruiser gelding ‘s first win in 15 seasonal starts and he paid $6.60 for win.

“I’ve had a real good couple of days Taggart admitted. “Gary’s (Messenger) youngsters are rounding into form and everything seems to be going my way now. I’ve been putting my horses in the right place and thankfully they’re been responding.”

— John Manzi

Harrah’s Philadelphia
Thursday (June 19) at Harrah’s Philadelphia 3-year-old colt Tom’s Titan grinded gamely to win the featured tenth race, a pace for NW of 5 or $50,000 lifetime for a purse of $16,000. The son of Nuclear Breeze got off the wings sixth, but followed live cover into second just short of the three-quarter pole. As they turned for home, he outfought favorite Somewhere Fancy, to secure the win in 1:51.4. Tom’s Titan now has eight wins in ten starts, and is four-for-five this year. He is owned by Tom Cooke, trained by Roger Hans, and was driven by Corey Callahan. Somewhere Fancy went on to finish second, while Invictus Hanover was third.

Vernon Downs
Market Dynamics (Pro Bono Best-Go Abby Go) scored a victory in the $8,000 featured 7th race at Vernon Downs on Thursday night (June 19). Market Dynamics, handled expertly by driver-trainer Rick Plano, sat the pocket trip behind pacesetter Asset Management (Fern Paquet Jr.) through three-quarters of a mile and tipped out as the field turned for home, charging past the longtime leader and getting home to win in 1:53. Asset Management faded to finish sixth after setting solid fractions of 26.4 for the quarter, 56.4 for the half, and 1:25 for three-quarters. Once Market Dynamics made the lead, she had to hold off the charge of longshot Kyler’s Valentine (Chris Lems), who lagged off the pace until the field entered the stretch and closed furiously to finish just three-quarters of a length behind the winner. The exacta combination of the 5-2 favorite and the 13-1 longshot paid $125.50. Market Dynamics is owned by Mindy Findling Repko of Delray Beach, Florida. Artic Byrd (Truman Gale) finished third after dealing with traffic and being bottled up between horses on the far turn. The complete order of finish for the Thursday feature was: Market Dynamics, Kyler’s Valentine, Artic Byrd, Upfront Secret, Love You Bye, Asset Management, Got The Munchies, Steuben Ruthless.

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Castle Pines set a lifetime mark on Thursday night in the $6,500 trotting event that served as the evening’s feature at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. The win was the second on the card for Castle Pines’ connections of the Stein Racing Stable, trainer Harvey Stein and driver Shawn Gray. Castle Pines (Conway Hall) set a lifetime mark behind a front running score in 1:59.2 in the winners of two but not more than four lifetime trot. Castle Pines’ stablemate Ona Dream (Onomatopoeia) prevailed convincingly for Gray earlier in the night. Gray had his biggest night of the year on Thursday as he piloted four winners on the card. Live racing continues on Friday night featuring the New York Sire Stakes and Pick-5 carryover of $1,529. Two non-betting races will kick off the card at 6:10 p.m. while the regular wagering portion of the program starts at 6:45 p.m.