Jockey Samuel Marin after winning at Monmouth Park. (Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)
As Monmouth Meet Heads Into Its Final Three Weekends
Three-Day BBQ & New Jersey Craft Beer Festival Set For Saturday Through Monday At Monmouth
Tom Luicci/Monmouth Park
OCEANPORT, N.J. – As soon as jockey Samuel Marin got off Rock the Rainbow after a recent gate work at Monmouth Park he told his agent Mike Moran that he had do everything in his power to make sure he secured the mount when the 2-year-old filly made her debut.
“You could tell she was a good one, but I never expected her to do what she did,” said Marin.
In New Jersey-bred maiden special weight company last Sunday, the Eddie Owens, Jr.-trained Rock the Rainbow obliterated her rivals with an 18-length romp that could have been more if Marin didn’t wrap early on her.
“If I asked her, she would have won by 20-something lengths,” he said.
For Marin, a native of Trujillo, Venezuela in his third-year riding in the United States, Rock the Rainbow was added to Book’em Danno and a win in the Jersey Shore stakes as the highlights of Monmouth Park meet that has him third in the jockey standings with 29 wins entering the final three weekends of the 50-day meet.
With Friday racing complete, Monmouth Park will race Saturday, Sunday and Monday over the coming Labor Day weekend, with the Violet Stakes, Rumson Stakes and Red Bank Stakes scheduled respectively for those three days.
Following this weekend, live racing will be held on two Saturdays and Sundays through closing day on Sept. 15.
“I’m really happy with the way things are going now,” said Marin, who rode four winners last weekend at Monmouth Park. “I started a little slow and I don’t know why but the same thing happened last year and then things picked up, the way they are doing now.
“I feel like I have improved a lot as a rider. I’m still learning. You never stop learning.”
Marin, who started riding quarter horses at his family’s farm when he was 12, came to the United States to ride in 2022. He was the leading apprentice at Hippodromo la Riconada in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2019.
In his second mount in this country he won the Long Branch Stakes with Dash Attack for trainer Ken McPeek.
With 392 mounts so far this year (and 51 wins) he is on pace to surpass his career-high total of 76 wins from 644 mounts a year ago.
What this year has also produced is an opportunity to ride the best horses he has ever been on, he said. He is 4-for-4 aboard Grade 1 winner Book’em Danno.
“I hope people are seeing that I can ride good horses and win with them,” he said. “I’m still young but people are starting to see what I can do.”
Marin said he will remain in the Northeast after the Monmouth Park meet ends, even riding occasionally in New York, before heading to ride full-time at Tampa Bay Downs, which opens on Nov. 20.
Three-Day BBQ & New Jersey Craft Beer Festival Set For Saturday Through Monday At Monmouth
The three-day BBQ & N.J. Craft Beer Festival, featuring 15 food truck vendors, more than 50 craft beers and live music, will take place Saturday through Monday (Labor Day) at Monmouth Park this weekend.
New Jersey craft beers only will be available all three days in the Festival Area from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For $15 patrons will receive a wristband good for ten (10) 2-ounce samples in the beer garden and a commemorative sample glass. All beer garden attendees will receive a map of beer listings and a layout of the area.
Vendors on site all three days will be Alpine Creamery; Bacon Me Crazy; DoBees Backyard BBQ; El Lechon de Negron; Enzo’s Pizza and Subs; Five Sisters Food Co.; House of Cupcakes; Local Smoke; Lola’s; Good Food = Good Mood; Magic Mike’s; NC Ribs on Wheels; NYC Mac Truck; Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House and Wild Bill’s.
Saturday’s featured band will be After The Reign, with West End Dogs performing on Sunday and Kickin’ Nash taking over the stage “On the Green” on Monday. Live music will run from noon to 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday are also Family Fun Days, with free clowns, face painters, pony rides and a bounce house for kids. Sunday will be the final Family Fun Day of the season.
First race post time all three days is 12:50 p.m.
