by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — It was bound to happen. Tracys Song’s 18-race win streak finally came to an end.

On Saturday (June 15), trainer Bob Lounsbury trucked his stellar pacing mare from Monticello Raceway to Tioga Downs to race without a claiming tag and for the first time since late January the 8-year-old daughter of Astreos tasted defeat.

Asked if he was disappointed that the mare finished last in the 1:53.2 clocked mile, Lounsbury replied quite philosophically, ”Absolutely not, we have nothing to be ashamed of, It was bound to happen sooner or later. That’s horse racing.”

Lounsbury continued, adding, “Although they’ve got a good racing surface at Tioga, Tracy’couldn’t grab the racetrack there and she was even hitting her knees.”

And Lounsbury didn’t hesitate to cite the long truck ride to Tioga Downs, saying it might have taken something out of her since she wasn’t used to being vanned a long distance and then asked for her best performance.

Since regular driver Bruce Aldrich, Jr. has been racing regularly at Saratoga Raceway on Saturdays, Lounsbury contracted Greg Merton to handle the driving chores behind Tracys Song.

Merton, currently the leading driver at Tioga and also a longtime Mighty M regular and former driving champ, concurred with Lounsbury’s assessments.

“There’s little doubt that she was overmatched in the class she was in, but she surely was struggling to get over the racetrack,” Merton said. “They just went too much for her. But she’s a true champion.”

Asked what’s next for Tracys Song, Lounbury said it’ll be back home to Monticello.

“We went out of town instead of moving her up to a higher claiming price where she’d have to race against the boys.

“Trying to keep her win streak alive has been a long, tough ordeal. Now, at least, the pressure is off.”