The frigid winter weather has done nothing to cool off Drew Monti. The 31-year-old driver, coming off a season in which he set a career-high with $3.76 million in purses and captured titles at Batavia Downs and Buffalo Raceway, has been winning races at a nearly 24 per cent clip since the calendar turned to 2026.
Monti has won 17 of 71 races this year and earned $132,467 in purses. He will head into final day of Batavia’s brief January/February meet on Thursday, Feb. 5 with 16 victories in 65 starts at the western New York half-mile oval, where he leads the drivers' standings by four wins over both Brett Beckwith and Kyle Cummings.
Last year, Monti won 293 races – coming up one triumph shy of his career best – and added a top-10 finish at Plainridge Park to his crowns at Batavia and Buffalo.
“It’s sort of picked up where I left off at the end of last year,” Monti said. “It was a good year. It was busy and it went fast, but I was happy with where I ended up. I had a chance to race some good horses, and I had a couple of my own that I really liked. It’s nice to have horses like that. It was a good feeling.
“Usually, the winter meet is not really my thing. My accounts don’t really race in the winter, so it’s like a different mix of horses. If you get lucky, and you end up on the right horses, it’s okay. But it’s not anything planned, per se. But this meet has been exceptional. The weather has been tough, but the racing has been good for sure.”
Monti has been the leading driver at Batavia four times in his career (with 2025 joining 2024, 2018 and 2016) and also was the top driver at Buffalo in 2018.
“It’s the same circuit, but to lead at Buffalo and Batavia is kind of difficult,” Monti said. “Different people do better at each track, for whatever the reason; it isn’t just the same group of people, business as usual. There are people that don’t even really race at Batavia, but they do very well at Buffalo.
“With that being said, sometimes you just get dialled in. You hate to say it ever feels easy, but it just feels smooth. Things are going smoothly for a long period of time, rather than erratic. Whether it be with the horses, good or bad luck, there’s a lot that can stop you.”
Monti, who has won nearly 2,900 races in his career, will hope things continue to go smoothly on Thursday, when his nine drives include Rock Me Always and Kbssweetcaroline in Batavia Downs Winter Series Finals.
Rock Me Always is two-for-two this season, with both victories coming in the preliminary rounds of the conditioned series for pacers. The 12-year-old son of Always A Virgin-Rock Me Mama is 7-5 on the morning line as part of a Mae Smith-trained entry and will leave from post three in the $11,000 USD final.
“I love that horse,” Monti said. “He went a huge trip last week. I moved him three-high at the quarter pole back to the lead, it was a little ridiculous. It wasn’t a good drive; he made me look good. He’s been pretty dominant. It looks like he’s in a good spot. He’s got a lot of gate speed, and he’s been so sharp, I think he’ll be real tough to beat.”
Kbssweetcaroline brings a five-race win streak dating to last year into her $14,000 USD final. The six-year-old pacing mare also is two-for-two this season thanks to triumphs in her series prelims. The Sam Smith-trained daughter of Shadyshark Hanover-Armbro Abstract will leave from post four and is the 2-1 second choice on the morning line.
“She is just unbelievable right now,” Monti said. “Horses get confident and feel like they can do anything. I’m hoping that if I can get spotted close that she’s capable of winning, for sure. Hopefully, we get it done.”
Following the completion of the Batavia meet, Monti has no set plans for the days ahead of Buffalo’s opening on Mar. 4. He might race some at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, or at other tracks in upstate New York, in addition to spending time with his dad, Darrin, working at their seven-to-10 horse stable.
“I get pretty busy through the summer, so to sit down for a minute isn’t the worst thing,” Monti said. “But I can’t wait for Buffalo. Hopefully, we get out of this winter in one piece and everything is good to go. The money is going to be good, the racing is going to be good, at Buffalo. I’m looking forward to that.
“My better horses are on the shelf just waiting to come out. Everything will be really coming together by March 1. We’ll be in gear. Hopefully we hit the ground running and have another good year.”
(USTA)