Slated for Monday June 18th the Mighty M will
have that special race to honor fathers, especially the ones whose sons have
become harness drivers and who carry their dad’s name with a Jr. (junior) added
at the end.
Paquet, Jr. joins a solid field which includes top
Mighty M drivers, Jimmy Taggart, Jr. Jimmy Marohn, Jr., Billy Parker, Jr. and
Kevin Switzer, Jr.
Paquet will bring 2399 driving victories to the contest, 50
of which he has recorded thus far this year. Currently racing at Tioga Downs
Paquet is in much demand as a catch driver and is currently battling Jimmy
Marohn, Jr.—yes the same as the one above-- for the driving title
there.
Taggart is the current leader at Monticello Raceway with 122
wins stalked closely by Marohn with 111 . Switzer has 60 wins here which ranks
him sixth on the local leaderboard. He, like Marohn, compete out- of-town
on the weekends when the Mighty M is dark and he too, is doing well, but at
Vernon Downs where he is among the leaders there, too.
And Billy “Zeke” Parker,. Jr. certainly needs no
introductions. His 17 driving crowns here and his 10,700 career victories ,
which ranks him seventh all-time, speak for themselves.
Others who have recently thrown their hats in the ring
include Greg Decker, Jr and Mike Marx, Jr.
“We will have a lot of talent in our event and I believe it
will be a worthy tribute to their dads,” noted Eric Warner, the tracks director
of racing. “There’s no doubt that it will be an interesting race
considering the talent involved and the luck of the draw, both for horses and
post positions, will certainly play a big part in the contest.
Warner was referring to the lottery drawings for both horses
and post positions which will be done for the Junior Free For All.
However, there still remains an opening for some
junior who would like to join the others. Any junior who is interested in
competing is urged to contact Warner in the race off by calling
845-794-4100x557. Or they can call the tracks publicity office at extension
557.
