EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (December 15, 2016) – “Wicked
cool man.”
Those three words perfectly sum up the youthful excitement
of Drew Monti when asked how he will feel next Thursday when he is scheduled to
make his Meadowlands driving debut.
The 22-year-old, who will wrap up the driving title at
Batavia Downs when its season concludes this weekend, will not only drive at
the Meadowlands for the first time, but will also visit the legendary New
Jersey oval for the first time.
“It is just incredible,” said Monti, who graduated from
Canisius College in May with an economics degree. “The Meadowlands is the place
you watch on TV growing up. If there’s anywhere to be, it’s there. It’s just an
honor to have the opportunity to race there. I just want to hold my own, enjoy
the entire experience, and learn as much as I can.”
Monti set a personal record with seven wins on one card at
Batavia in October. While his expectations are slightly lower for his maiden
voyage at the Big M, he wants to let fans and horsemen know he is not just
coming to town for fun.
“It’s just like anywhere else, you need to get the power to
do any good,” explained Monti. “No matter what your skill is, you can’t win
without good horses. I’m excited because a couple of trainers such as Rick Dane
and Joe Skowyra said they would help me out. I think at first, I’ll have
more of a conservative attitude because I don’t know the horses, don’t know the
drivers. But I still want to be aggressive. I want to win races.”
Monti said he plans to race at the Meadowlands at least
until Buffalo Raceway opens for its winter season on January 11. Monti will add
to the growing Meadowlands driving colony that is under the age of 30 that
already includes Joe Bongiorno, Vinny Ginsburg, Marcus Miller, and newest
arrival Tyler Smith.
In the midst of a career year with more than 200 wins and
$1.2 million in earnings, Monti figures to fit in nicely at The Big M this
winter.
“I have been watching Drew the last couple of years in
Upstate New York and I think he handles a horse very well in my opinion,” said
Meadowlands GM and COO Jason Settlemoir. “I met Drew about a month ago and not
only is he a good driver, but he also seems like an intelligent well spoken
young man that loves our business. I think that Drew can quickly adjust to the
Meadowlands racing and I wish him the best of luck.”
For more information, please visit www.playmeadowlands.com.
