Bruce Aldrich Jr. padded his lead on the dash title at Monticello Raceway with five wins on the Thursday (March 5) afternoon card.

Aldrich won three consecutive races at the beginning of the card, connecting with Western Bay Bay (1:58.4 - $3.60) in Race 2, Lucky Leonard (pictured above, 2:00 - $40.80) in the third race and Someboysomewhere (2:00 - $2.20) in the fourth.

The next win came aboard favoured Regil Tiger (1:58.1 - $4.20) in the ninth race, and John Dally (1:59.3 - $3.30) would account for Aldrich’s fifth win of the afternoon in the tenth. Aldrich has won four or more races on the same day five times this season.

Mike Merton, who recently returned to the racebike after a prolonged absence due to a racing accident, brushed off the dust and won three races.

A total of $724,787 was wagered on the 10-race card, for an average handle per race of $72,478.

Live harness racing resumes Monday with a 12:50 first race post time.

(Monticello)