Horse Racing Nation Fans Meet the Monmouth Park Jockeys
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Photo:
Matt Shifman
Guest Blog by Ben Massam
Following the conclusion of
racing on Friday, Monmouth Park hosted the inaugural ‘Joes versus Jocks Mini Golf Festival’ to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund. As the sun set over the Oceanport oval,
numerous fans, jockeys, and other fixtures of the Monmouth Park racing world
participated in the 18 hole charity event at the newly-constructed adjacent
mini-golf course.
Horse Racing Nation fielded a
team, and we had the chance to speak with a number of participants about racing
at the Jersey Shore. By the end of
the contest, golfers not only felt satisfied with their contribution to a
worthy cause, but also got to meet with the athletes they see on the racetrack
every day.
Brian Leckie (@bleck1022), who
has been to every Haskell Invitational since 1997, described the opportunity to play mini golf alongside
the likes of Larry Collmus, Joe Bravo, Paco Lopez, and Elvis Trujillo as “a
dream come true for a great cause.” Leckie is a devoted fan of Monmouth Park racing and went on to call it
“one of the best horse racing experiences of my life—right up there with a
visit to Claiborne Farm and attending the 2006 Breeders’ Cup.”
Leckie played alongside Kevin
(@RutgersKev) as guests of Horse Racing Nation in the tournament. Kevin, who has been attending the races
since a very young age, noted that, “it was great to ask a few broadcasting
questions to Larry Collmus. He’s
the voice of American thoroughbred racing.”
Kendrick Carmouche, regularly
one of the best jockeys on the Mid-Atlantic circuit, told participants about
his background in thoroughbred racing: “I’m more than a jockey. I’m a horse
person. Whether it’s racehorses or
visiting horses on a farm, they are a big part of my life.” Carmouche is named to ride six horses
on Haskell day, including last year’s champion New Jersey-bred, Javerre, in the
Teddy Drone Stakes.
As well-known Jersey Shore jockey
Joe Bravo greeted golfers at his post on the course, he reminisced about his
favorite racing memories, including a victory in the 1997 Donn Handicap aboard
Formal Gold and a dominant win aboard first-time-starting Dehere at Monmouth
during the summer of 1993. Bravo gets
the call back on Micromanage in the Haskell for Todd Pletcher after riding him to
a convincing score in the Long Branch earlier this month.
Sunday’s 14 race card of racing at Monmouth Park gets off to an early start, set for a first post time of noon. The Haskell Invitational goes off as the 13th race, a 6:18pm scheduled post.
Ben Massam can be found on Twitter at @NJthoroughbred
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