Monmouth Park's First Program has 12 Races
With the new William Hill Race & Sports Bar debuting on Opening Day, Monmouth Park will kickoff its 69th season of Thoroughbred racing on Saturday with a 12-race card that starts at 12:50 p.m.
There will be free Grandstand admission and half-price Clubhouse admission on Saturday.
The 57-day meeting will run through Sunday, Sept. 28, here in Oceanport. New Jersey horsemen will also run a 14-day meeting, all turf, at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford in September and October.
Gates will open 11:30 a.m. each day, and first post will be 12:50 p.m. The only exception is Sunday, July 27, when the $1 million William Hill Haskell Invitational tops the card. Gates open on Haskell Day at 10 a.m., with post time for the first race set at 12 noon.
During May, Monmouth will offer live racing on Saturdays and Sundays until the last week, when a card will be added on Memorial Day Monday (May 26). Three-day-a-week racing starts on Friday, May 30, and continues through June, July and August.
After a four-day Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29 – Sept. 1), Monmouth returns to weekend only racing through Sept. 28.
Grandstand
admission is $3 daily, with seniors (55 and up) at $2. Clubhouse
admission is $5 ($3 for seniors). On Haskell Day, Grandstand admission
is $5 and Clubhouse admission is $8 ($3 and $5 for seniors). Children
12 and under are always free.
New
to the wagering format will be trifectas with a 50-cent base wager.
Returning for a second season is the popular Jersey Shore Six, which
can be played for as little as 10 cents.
HE CAN RUN LOOKS FOR UPSET IN SATURDAY’S DECATHLON STAKES
Trainer Buddy Carlesimo enjoyed a huge upset in last year’s $150,000 Salvator Mile when Raging Daoust posted a nose victory at 33-1. Carlesimo will be looking to pull off yet another upset this Saturday, when he saddles He Can Run, installed at 20-1 on the morning line, in the $75,000 Decathlon Stakes, feature on the Opening Day card.
“He’s never been worse than third in five starts at Monmouth, so that certainly doesn’t hurt,” said Carlesimo, who trains He Can Run for the partnership of Costabile and Juliano. “He’s a very smart horse. He always saves something; the trick is to get him to use it in the lane.”
He Can Run comes into the six-furlong Decathlon off a third-place effort over the Atlantic City turf on April 26. He spent the winter competing at Parx, but now returns to Monmouth, where he’s a two-time stakes placed runner.
“This race came up tough, no question about that,” Carlesimo said. “But he’s a runner. He’s versatile and he’s coming up to the race good.”
A 5-year-old gelding by Successful Appeal from the Seattle Slew mare Another, He Can Run sports a lifetime record of 10-3-5 from 28 career outings. He’ll break from post three in the 11-horse field with jockey Victor Santiago in the irons.
The Decathlon goes as race 11 on Saturday’s 12-race card.
FREE GRANDSTAND, HALF-PRICE CLUBHOUSE ADMISSION OPENING DAY
In addition to free Grandstand and half-price Clubhouse admission for Opening Day on May 10, fans will be greeted by a slew of activities and giveaways right from the onset of the 57-day summer season.
Opening Day will feature a drawing for 50 VIP season and parking passes as well as live music from the Larry Stevens Band.
On Sunday, Mother’s Day, all ladies will be admitted free to the Grandstand or Clubhouse with the first 1,000 through the gates receiving a free flower, courtesy of Flowers by Van Brunt. Also for Sunday, a custom gold necklace by Joel McFadden Designs will go to one lucky winner as will a weekend getaway for two to the Ocean Place Resort & Spa.