On Wednesday, October 2 Monticello Raceway presented its ninth edition of the Munich Mile, which is the sixth leg of the track’s year-long Heritage Drivers Series.
The race for drivers of German descent was enhanced this year by the presence of four native German drivers.
“They are here as guests of the North American Amateur Drivers Association to compete against NAADA drivers at three different racetracks, so we postponed our Munich Mile to coincide with their arrival in order to have native Germans in our race,” explained Eric Warner, the track’s director of racing. “We were pleased to have them participate and they were glad to be able to drive in this race.”
When the gate sprung, driver Chuck Poynton sent Tommy Ray CMJ to the lead. Pilot Mike Merton commandeered the two-hole with Snap Out Of It. Merton and ‘Snappy’ stayed covered while Germans Martina Bredlau and Peter Platzer got plenty of Catskill air while on the limb with their respective pacers, Spectacular Man and Keltic Dragon.
Poynton and Tommy Ray CMJ took the field all the way to the top of the lane, which proved ideal for Merton. When the trailing horses swarmed in on Poynton’s pacer, Merton took the unblocked short route up the passing lane to score a two-length victory with favoured Snap Out Of It in 1:58.2.
Sammy Savannah and German driver Andreas Schwarz rallied to be second. Foomanchu and driver Pat Beeler finished third. Tommy Ray CMJ faded and finished fourth.
Owned by Paul Felsher and trained by Bill Kapinos, Snap Out Of It scored his fifth seasonal victory and returned a $4.10 Win mutuel.
(With files from Monticello)