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Apr 26, 2018

Ten Strike Racing’s Dot Matrix and jockey Shaun Bridgmohan found racing room late and outdueled favored Profiteer to win Wednesday’s featured $80,000 Gunston Hall Purse before 8,557 fans.

The performance gave Dot Matrix his second consecutive win following his March 24 victory at Fair Grounds and marked the 13^th victory of Keeneland’s 2018 Spring Meet for the season’s leading trainer, Brad Cox.

The winner covered 1 mile on a good turf course in 1:39.09.

Dot Matrix is a 5-year-old New York-bred gelding by Freud out of the Gulch mare Aunt Dot Dot. The victory was worth $37,560 and increased his earnings to $247,001 with six wins in 21 starts.

The 7-2 second choice in the field of eight, Dot Matrix returned $9.60, $4.40 and $2.80. Profiteer, the 9-5 favorite, paid $3.40 and $2.60 with Jose Ortiz aboard. Third choice Bondurant finished another three-quarters of a length behind in third under Julien Leparoux and paid $3.

Thursday marks the penultimate day of racing during the spring meet. The nine-race program begins at 1:05 ET.

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4-26 thurs proof

Thursday’s picks at Monticello for our IdaBet players are below:

1ST RACE: 4-2-3-6

2ND RACE: 1-5-4-2

3RD RACE: 3-2-4-1

4TH RACE: 7-1-2-6

5TH RACE: 2-3-8-7

6TH RACE: 4-2-1-3

7TH RACE: 1-7-6-2

8TH RACE: 4-5-6-3

9TH RACE: 6-4-1-3

Thank you for your continued support of Monticello and IdaBet.com!

Apr 25, 2018

The well-travelled Ask Queenie has already won races at Monticello, Yonkers and Saratoga Raceways this year. Now, she can put a Plainridge Park sticker on her trunk as she captured the $12,000 distaff pacing feature here on Tuesday afternoon (April 24).

Ask Queenie (Shawn Gray) settled in mid-pack off the gate as Iced Out (Greg Merton) took early command. But Gray’s placid approach quickly changed when he pulled his mare at the eighth pole and made a rush for the front. Hitting the quarter in :27, Ask Queenie was now barking marching orders with the field following in a straight line.

After backing the half off to :56, Stylish Beachwhere (Ron Cushing) and Western Stepp (Drew Campbell) came in the outer flow but were met with a quickening :28 third quarter pace. Rounding the last turn, Stylish Beachwhere stalled, sending Western Stepp three high. But Ask Queenie was still rolling along and stretched out to a three-length advantage. Down the lane Gray tucked the whip and lowered the lines and Ask Queenie was a wrapped-up winner crossing the wire in 1:52.3, which was a new seasonal mark.

Ask Queenie ($3.80) scored her fourth win of the year for owners Edward Hall and James Hall Jr. and trainer Craig Mosher.

In the co-featured $12,000 conditioned pace, Colorful Speech (Nick Graffam) turned a garden-spot trip behind Cruiserwillwin (Greg Merton) into a hard-fought half-length victory in 1:53.4, blowing up the tote board at 40-1.

Colorful Speech ($83.80) scored his first win of the year for owner/trainer Milton Vickerson and triggered big payouts for his supporting bettors. The 1-4 exacta returned $305.20 and the 1-4-3 trifecta paid $2,876.20,...

Apr 25, 2018

Pole-sitting Bluebird Jesse (George Brennan, $12.20) went the distance, winning Tuesday night’s (Apr. 24^th) $85,000 final of the Bonus Trotting Series.

The event, co-sponsored by Yonkers Raceway and the Standardbred Owners Association of the New York, offered three preliminary legs leading to the final.

The field was reduced to seven after an illness defection, with three of those coupled due to the intersection of common trainer and cross-ownership.

At the outset, Bluebird Jessie was about to stuff Tyson (Yannick Gingras) in behind when the latter broke. That misdeed may have been the reason Optimist Blue Chip (Andy Miller) jumped it off. Tyson would eventually get back trotting, only to ‘dance’ again.

Meanwhile, Seasoned Saint (Jim Marohn Jr.), starting right next door to the leader, wound up pocketed as part of a the 15-cents-on-the-dollar favored troika. Bluebird Jesse was hard-used early (:27.4 opening quarter-mile), before rating a :58.1 intermission.

Lone lass Romancing Rachel (Mark MacDonald), another part of the entry, was third. However, the battle lines were drawn between the leader and his pursuer. Seasoned Saint, the only entrant to sweep all three prelims, pulled against Bluebird Jesse well before the 1:26.4 three-quarters.

The  two were just about in tandem from the final turn to the wire, but Bluebird Jesse was both stubborn and swift. He defeated Seasoned Saint by a head in a life-best-matching 1:54.4. Romancing Rachel was another five lengths back in third, with Aces and Eights (Ray Schnittker) and Icanflylikeanangel (Jeff Gregory) settling for the minors.

For second choice Bluebird Jesse, a 4-year-old Jailhouse Jesse gelding trained by Scott DiDomenico for co-owners Brian...