On Thursday afternoon (June 20), Jim Taggart Jr. put on a driving clinic at Monticello Raceway, winning five races on the card.
Taggart didn’t get hot until race five, where he drove TKRs Metro Specs to victory in 1:58.2 and returned a $8.70 win mutuel. Next up was College Hanover, ($2.40) who scored a five-length wire-to-wire win in 1:57 for trainer Richard Dunn in the seventh race.
Taggart concluded his five-bagger by sweeping the last three races on the card. Cheyenne Danny ($3.20) won from post 8 in 1:56.2 for trainer Dan Gill in race 10; the Bob Lounsbury-trained Persist Blue Chip ($3.50) won the 11th race in 1:57, and the 11-year-old Needles And Pins ($2.80) took the finale in 1:57.4 for trainer Anthony Regina.
Taggart currently is in third place in the Monticello driving standings with 109 wins, behind Austin Siegelman (143) and Michael Merton (131).
A total of $736,029 was wagered on the 12-race card.
New York Sire Stakes for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings headlines the Monday afternoon (June 24) card. Post time is 12:50 p.m.
(Monticello Raceway)