Leave it to the ladies. On May 13 they put on a very interesting show at Monticello Raceway when eight gals lined up behind the starting gate and competed in the 11th edition of the Lady Godiva.
With a wire-to-wire ride, Veronica Merton took home the Godiva Chocolates and the huge trophy after she won the event with Now It Begins in a series record time of 1:59.1.
Determined to be on the front end, Merton—sister to 'Mighty M' regulars Greg, Mike and Tom Merton—rushed her pacer toward the lead from the five- hole and they made the front before the quarter-mile timer flashed :28.3.
“I thought I had the best horse in the race so figured I’d drive her that way,” Merton said.
And she did.
Merton got Now It Begins by the halfway point in :58.2, and as they passed the third stanza in 1:28.3, Terry Donnelly had her pacer, K Z Bezz, tight on Merton’s back.
But as they circled the final turn and headed for paydirt, no one made up any ground in the stretch. Now It Begins dashed off to a one and a half-length triumph over K Z Bezz. Third place, some six lengths behind the winner, was Lightning Madison and Jody Riedel.
Whitney Bell Goodblood was fourth with Mary Lou, while defending champ Lisa Krom finished fifth with Sittinthemorninsun.
Veronica wasn’t the only Merton to win a race on that Monday card. Brothers Greg and Mike also had winning drives.
“This is my first win in the Lady Godiva and it feels great,” a joyous Veronica said in the winner’s circle after her three brothers joined her for the ceremonies. “My brothers have nothing on me today.”
In order to fill the race, Eric Warner, the track's director of racing, had to reach out for participants. And the ladies came from both near and far just to be a part of the race for women only.
Sherry Cushing came from farthest away when she drove in from Farmington, Maine. Whitney Bell Goodblood travelled to Monticello from Vernon, New York, and Dr. Karyn Malinowski, Monica Thors and Terry Donnelly came in from various parts of New Jersey. Only Jody Riedel, Lisa Krom and Ms. Merton were locals.
But the travelling distance didn’t seem to bother the participants because races exclusively for ladies are rare.
“This (race for women) is such a great thing,” said Monica Thors who had her crew videotaping interviews and filming the race itself for her documentary ‘I Am A Harness Racing Horse.’
“Can’t you do a race like this every week?” she asked Warner by phone, to which he replied, “I’d love to if we could get enough women to participate on a regular basis.”
(Monticello)