On Presidents Day, with well over two feet of fresh snow on
the ground, much of it piled along the inside and outside of the racetrack,
Monticello Raceway was still able to present its “Not Quite Presidential” Pace
despite the fact that three horses were late scratches.
“That we lost three horses to scratches was something we
didn’t figure on,” said Eric Warner the tracks director of racing. “When you
have drivers coming in from out of town there is always a possibility of losing
someone along the way especially when the weather is bad, but losing three
horses in the race was something we didn’t figure on.”
And perhaps it was because of the short field that Howard
“Zachary” Taylor altered his driving strategy and sent his charge, Red Carpet
Tonight, to the front and together they made every pole a winning one en route to
a 2:04 triumph over Space Chalet, driven by Don “Herbert” Hoover and She’s A
Screamer with Peter Gerry aboard.
“I left with her (Red Carpet Tonight) because I watched
replays and she threw her head when she was grabbed into. Therefore decided to
roll her out of the gate so that I didn't have to grab her and that we had a
short field seemed like the right time to put her on the front-end,” Taylor
said after being contacted in the paddock after the race.
When the wings of the mobile gate folded Taylor sent Red
Carpet Tonight to the lead and opened-up a three- length lead as they
passed the first quarter in :29.1, From there, Taylor and Red Carpet Tonight
had open lengths on the field at every other stanza and at the top of the lane
they were five lengths in front.
“We had a good lead as we headed for home and although my
mare was tiring she held off a late charge by Don Hoover’s pacer to win,”
Taylor added.
Owned by Leonard Segall and trained by Steve Moore, Red
Carpet Tonight paid. $10.80 for win.
Because it was the Presidents Day Holiday the” Not Quite
Presidential” Pace was carded and mainly relegated to drivers with
U.S. Presidential names although Peter Gerry became eligible since his five
-times removed Great Grandfather Elbridge Thomas Gerry was a U.S. Vice
President under the fourth President of the United States, James
Madison.
Others who participated in the five-horse race were Dennis
“George” Washington, who finished fourth and “Harry” Truman Gale was fifth.
