NAADA trot action at Monticello

MONTICELLO, N.Y.— Harness racing amateur driver Tony Beltrami persisted first over while Scott Keppler fired down the road to win their respective $7,500 divisions of the North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) Trot at Monticello Raceway on Wednesday (June 26).

Tony Beltrami powered forward in the first division with Drop The Mic (Chapter Seven) and clinched a narrow win in 2:03.2. Beltrami settled into fourth past a :31.1 first quarter and lifted into attack after leader Call Me Thefireman (driven by Anthony Verruso) moving for a 1:03.4 half. Drop The Mic marched forward up the backside, drew to equal terms with Call Me Thefireman by three-quarters in 1:33 and stayed locked in battle through the final turn.

Explosive Ridge (Andrew Adamczyk) sprung into contention late with a furious stretch rally but Drop The Mic held him off and downed Call Me Thefireman to win by a nose while they finished second and third, respectively. Swan Hilluva Time (Joe Lee) took fourth.

Paul Fusco trains Drop The Mic, a 6-year-old gelding, for owner Robert Arzano. He paid $6.70 to win.

DROP THE MIC REPLAY

Scott Keppler later scored a pillar-to-post win with 9-5 favorite Cellular (Uncle Peter) in 2:00 to score in the second NAADA Trot. Keppler sent Cellular to the top before a :29.3 first quarter and easily brushed off a first-over bid from Winneress (Anthony Verruso) through a 1:00.2 half and to three-quarters in 1:29.3.

Cellular then scampered away in the lane to a 3-1/4-length victory over Winneress with Making Sparks (Alan Schwartz) scooting through into third and Livingontherail (Tony Beltrami) taking fourth.

Raheim Strong trains Cellular, a 6-year-old gelding, for owner Scott Keppler. He paid $5.80 to win.
NAADA action continues next Wednesday (July 3) at Monticello Raceway with the fifth preliminary for the club’s summer series. First-race post time is 12:10 p.m. (EDT).

CELLULAR REPLAY

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Ray Cotolo, for NAADA