Monmouth Park Barn Notes - Sept. 5

Saturday’s $40,000 allowance/optional claimer at 5 ½ furlongs on Monmouth turf appears on paper to be stacked with early speed.  Now add in trainer Tim Hills’s pair of Triple E and It’s Time to Laugh, both of whom have not been close up early in recent events; however, the trainer believes that’s about to change on Saturday.

“I’m putting blinkers on both of them,” said Hills, leading Monmouth Park trainer in 2002 and 2004. “I want them both to be closer early and that should certainly help.  It’s not as if they’re getting beat by much, so I just want to put them in the game a little bit earlier.”

Triple E, an 8-year-old gelding, who has captured two of seven lifetime wins on Monmouth turf, has drawn post six as he makes his fifth start in 2013.  The son of Storm Boot out of the stakes placed mare Tres Norte has earned $314,363 in his career, by far the most in the field of nine runners.  Triple E himself is stakes placed, having finished second in last year’s John McSorley Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs on turf.

In preparation for Saturday’s race, Triple E worked a bullet three furlongs in :36 on Sept. 2.

“I wasn’t looking for anything that fast,” Hills said.  “It was more of him just feeling good and doing what he wanted.”

It’s Time to Laugh, a 5-year-old gelding by Irish Road from Out of Laughs, has drawn post eight and is a course and distance winner, having taken an entry level allowance last spring.  Two of his three lifetime wins have come on Monmouth turf.  Saturday will mark his third start of the year.

“It’s a tough race,” Hills said.  “But they’re both doing well and hopefully the blinkers will help.”

Saturday’s eighth race goes at approximately 4:27 p.m.  Gates open Saturday at 11:30 a.m., with first post set for 12:50 p.m.

JERSEY SHORE SIX CARRYOVER OF $6,709.08 FOR SATURDAY

With no lone ticket selecting all winners of Sunday’s last six races, the Jersey Shore Six carryover is now at $6,709.08 for Saturday’s race card.

The Jersey Shore Six, which is based on the popular Rainbow Six at Gulfstream, has a 10-cent base wager.  To win the jackpot, a ticket must have the winner of the last six races on the card and be the only one to have done so.  If more than one person has a winning ticket, they split 60% of the net pool with 40% going to the carryover. The Jersey Shore Six comprises the last six races of every card at Monmouth Park.

OVER $60,000 UP FOR GRABS IN FREE PICK’EM FOOTBALL CONTESTS

Monmouth Park and William Hill will kick off a string of free play football contests this week with prizes totaling $61,250 to be given away through the end of December.

Led by the Pro Pick’Em series, a total of three contests will be on tap beginning with Thursday Pick’Em, which gets underway on Sept. 5 when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Denver Broncos.  The other contest will be College Pick’Em, which starts on Sept. 7.

The Pro Pick’Em contest boasts $52,500 in cash prizes.  Players must select 16 games with point spreads.  The weekly entrant with the most winners will receive $2,000 with the runner-up collecting $500.  The player with the most wins throughout the season will walk away with $10,000.

Entries must be made at a William Hill kiosk at the racetrack prior to the start of the first game on Sunday.  In the event of a tie, the player with the earliest time stamp on their kiosk generated receipt shall be deemed the winner.

The Thursday Pick’Em, which will feature 15 propositions, will award a weekly prize of $250 as well as a 2014 Monmouth Park VIP prize package to the top 20 finishers at the end of the season.

For fans looking to make college plays, the College Pick’Em boasts weekly prizes of $500 as well as a season grand prize of a trip for two to Las Vegas, including three nights at the Plaza Hotel & Casino plus airfare.          

All contests are free to enter; however, players must be 21 or over and possess a William Hill Rewards Card.  Cards can be obtained seven days a week in the Paddock Sports Bar in the Monmouth Park Clubhouse with a limit of one card per person. 

Eventually all contests will shift to the new William Hill race and sports bar located on the first floor of the Grandstand.  With an expected completion later this fall, the William Hill race and sports bar will be a full Vegas-style sports book featuring free play football, simulcast horse racing and a full service bar.