Thursday, June 28 didn’t start out so well for Mike Merton
at Monticello Raceway . But things sure got good in a hurry later on.
During the morning qualifiers Merton was up
behind a pacer by the name of My Hot Pip and got dumped out
on the first turn
“I had a broken line and I couldn’t control my horse and we
ran up on the back of Pete Stratton. When that happened someone hit me
from behind and I got knocked off the bike . I wasn’t hurt and neither were
the other guys involved in the accident,” Merton related .” They remained
seated and my horse was quickly caught.”
Merton got back up after the mishap and drove in later
qualifying events. So much for the bad news.
When the betting got underway things went
from the ridiculous to the sublime for Merton. He won the first five
races on the card .
“ I landed on my head and it must have done something for
me,” Merton said jokingly. “ I had my best day in years.”
Merton started the afternoon program with a decisive 1:56.4
six-length victory with Blue Boy ($3.10) and then won the second race
trot behind Marquee T ($10.80) in 2:02.1.
The third race produced win number three for Merton
when he guided Get Out Of Tune ($7.60) home first in a time of 1:58.4.
Still red hot, Merton then delivered another victory in the fourth this time
with 17-1 longshot Don’t Call Us ($37.00). His fifth consecutive
win came next when he hustled Straightistheway to a 2:00.0 triumph.
He also had a second and two thirds and was off the board only once in
nine starts.
When asked if he has ever had a better day than today Merton
thought a moment and said: “I won five races (on one card) three times
before but I never won five- in- a- row. So yes, considering everything,
I think this will be my most memorable day thus far, especially after
having been in a wreck in a qualifying race in the morning.”
Recently Merton passed the 2000-win plateau –now with
2017--and his five victories on Thursday’s card raised his seasonal
total here to 87; good for sixth place on the local leaderboard.
