Quote:
Originally Posted by RUFFIAN
Where is everybody???:
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PURRRHAPS AT MONMOUTH PARK  |
Some were, 20,983 to be exact. Very good attendance for Monmouth's signature race of the year. NJ Route 36 between the track and the Garden State Parkway must have been a zoo. Unfortunately, the Haskell was marred by an unfortunate incident near the 1/8th pole in which the favorite, Hot Rod Charlie, came in about two lanes while Mandaloun was making a move near the rail. That left Midnight Bourbon no place to go, and he appeared to clip heels with Charlie, almost went down, tossing Paco Lopez who then was kicked by Following Sea and stayed on the ground until he was removed by stretcher. Everything happened so quickly that I may not have gotten the sequence correct except to say it was a scary situation.
The reports I read stated that Lopez was "suffering some knee pain" and that Midnight Bourbon galloped past the finish and was finally caught by an outrider.
It's interesting to compare numbers from the two Eastern tracks that had Grade 1 races yesterday. Monmouth attendance was 20,983; on track handle was $1,170,950 and off track was $15,243,595. The attendance at Saratoga was reported to be 25,520; on track handle was $4,582,684 and off track handle was $27,535,185. Lots of pent up demand from fans who couldn't attend the races in 2020.