EQUI-PHOTO
Monmouth-At-Meadowlands Meet Gets Underway Friday Night
Tom Luicci/Monmouth Park
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Fifty-two horses (plus one alternate) are entered for the opening six-race all-turf Monmouth-at-Meadowlands card that kicks off the boutique meet on Friday in East Rutherford.
The nine-race all-turf meet will run through Oct. 17 on Fridays and Saturdays.
First race post time is 7 p.m.
A $42,000 allowance at a mile and a sixteenth for fillies and mares, 3 and up, will serve as the opening night feature. Among the nine entered in the race are the Gregg Sacco-trained Runway Lights, a winner last out at a mile and a sixteenth on the grass on Aug. 15 at Monmouth Park, and Lady De Berry, trained by Brittany Russell with Christopher Elliott scheduled to ride. Lady De Berry was second in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar in 2023 and was third in the Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park last year.
A Maiden Special Weight five-furlong dash Jersey-bred 2-year-olds, carrying a $45,000 purse, has attracted nine horses. That will go as the second race and features four first-time starters. The other five entrants have all started just once each.
Paco Lopez, the nation’s leading rider by wins, is listed to ride in all six races. Lopez recently won his 12th Monmouth Park riding title and record seventh straight when the Jersey Shore track concluded its meet on Sunday.
