Harness racing: Taggart, Petrelli take titles at Monticello Raceway

Jim Taggart Jr. captured the wins and total earnings titles for the 2022 harness racing season at Monticello Raceway, repeating the feat from 2019.

Taggart’s 235 wins outdistanced Bruce Aldrich (198) and Brandon Parker (176) – it was the same order in earnings with Taggart at $1,120,515, Aldrich at $1,110,045 and Parker at $959,694.

Over the past five seasons, Michael Merton has 1,021 wins, Aldrich 985 and Taggart, from Honesdale, Pa., with 981. Taggart reached 5,000 career wins in Jan. 2020.

A total of 157 drivers took turns at Monticello in 2022.

Christopher Petrelli led all trainers with 92 wins, followed by Laura Aldrich with 89 and Gary Messenger with 75. For earnings, Aldrich led with $485,004, Daniel Gill was runner-up at $407,247 and Petrelli with $396,260. Petrelli had 17 wins in 2019, 28 in 2020 and 80 in 2021.

Machlicious led all racers with 15 wins, good for a leading $79,608 in earnings. IWillMakeYouSayWow was second with 14 wins. A total of 29 horses won at least eight times in 2022.

Machlicious, a pacer trained by James Doherty Jr., was the Monticello Raceway Horse of the Year, awarded at last month’s annual banquet of the Monticello-Goshen chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers Association. Machlicious has won 26 races in 61 starts at Monticello since 2018.

Additional local awards went to Jennifer Mitchell as Caretaker of the Year; Scott Keppler as the Amateur Driver of the Year; and, Braxten Boyd, 22, as the Rising Star Award winner.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

2022 leaders

Drivers

Wins: 1. Jim Taggart Jr. 235; 2. Bruce Aldrich Jr. 198; 3. Brandon Parker 176; 4. Michael Merton 174; 5. McGwire Sowers 161; 6. Gregory Merton 131; 7. James Devaux 109; 8. Joseph Chindano Jr. 101; 9. Kyle Dibendetto 84; 10. Cory Stratton 64. RECENT CHAMPS: 2021 – Michael Merton $1,063374; 2020 (COVID year) – Bruce Aldrich Jr. $587,807; 2019 – Jim Taggart Jr. $897,566; 2018 – Michael Merton 269

Earnings: 1. Jim Taggart Jr. $1,120,515; 2. Bruce Aldrich Jr. $1,110,045; 3. Brandon Parker $959,694; 4. McGwire Sowers $877,586;  5. Michael Merton $863,708; 6. Gregory Merton $661,046; 7. James Devaux $656,893; 8. Kyle Dibendetto $619,601; 9. Joseph Chindano Jr. $547,487; 10. Cory Stratton $324,507. RECENT CHAMPS: 2021 – Michael Merton 251; 2020 (COVID year) – Bruce Aldrich Jr. 136; 2019 – Jim Taggart Jr. 256; 2018 – Michael Merton $994,531

In the money percentage (win-place-show/starts; minimum 100 starts): 1. Gregory Merton 52 pct.; 2. Michael Merton 52 pct.; 3. Joseph Chindano Jr. 51 pct.; 4. James Devaux 50 pct.; 5. Jim Taggart Jr. 47 pct.; 6. Bruce Aldrich Jr. 45 pct.; 7. Brandon Parker 45 pct.; 8. McGwire Sowers 43 pct.; 9. Cory Stratton 42 pct.; 10. Frederick Bourgault 39 pct.

Starts: 1. Bruce Aldrich Jr. 1,327; 2. Jim Taggart Jr. 1,286; 3. Brandon Parker 1,174; 4. McGwire Sowers 1,116; 5. Kyle Dibenetto 1,075; 6. Michael Merton 848; 7. James Devaux 668; 8. Gregory Merton 643; 9. Joseph Chindano Jr. 583; 10. Cory Stratton 481

Places: 1. Bruce Aldrich Jr. 223; 2. Jim Taggart Jr., 182; 3. Brandon Parker 171; 4. McGwire Sowers 162; 5. Kyle Dibenetto 154

Shows: 1. Brandon Parker 186; 2. Jim Taggart Jr. 181; 3. Bruce Aldrich Jr. 176; 4. Kyle Dibenetto 165; 5. McGwire Sowers 162

Trainers

Wins: 1. Christopher Petrelli 92; 2. Laura Aldrich 89; 3. Gary Messenger 75; 4. Phillip Sowers 71; 5. Daniel Gill 69; 6. Candace Brandstatter 68; 7. James Doherty Jr. 47; 8. James Doherty Jr. 47; 9. Kenneth Koch 44; 10. Ali Annuziata 40

Earnings: 1. Laura Aldrich $485,004; 2. Daniel Gill $407,247; 3. Christopher Petrelli $396,260; 4. Gary Messenger $362,575; 5. Phillip Sowers 359,586; 6. Candace Brandstatter $265,184; 7. James Doherty Jr. $255,632; 8. Ali Annuziata $207,582; 9. Murray Bassen $207,555; 10. Thomas Merton $205,549

In the money percentage (win-place-show/starts; minimum 100 starts): 1. Jose Godinez 66 pct.; 2. Kenneth Koch 65 pct.; 3. Candace Brandstatter 61 pct.; 4. Amanda Arrigenna 60 pct.; 5. Nicholas Devita 54 pct.; 6. Christopher Petrelli 54 pct.; 7. David Dziengiel 53 pct.; 8. William Parker Jr. 53 pct.; 9. Laura Aldrich 51 pct.; 10. Thomas Merton 51 pct.

Horses

All pacers unless trotter (t)

Wins: 1. Machlicious 15; 2. IWillMakeYouSayWow 14; 3. Rocks Fantasy 12; 3. Special Achiever 12; 5. Astor 11; 5. Cinnamon Stick (t) 11; 5. Dreaming Silly 11;5.  E R Shane (t) 11; 5. Fox Valley Charliz 11; 5. Urbana Bayama 11; 11. SBD Corazon 10; six horses tied with nine; twelve horses tied with eight

Earnings: 1. Machlicious $79,608; 2. E R Shane (t) $71,932; 3. Cinnamon Stick (t) $65, 510; 4. Fox Valley Charliz $57,334; 5. Special Achiever $56,917; 6. Hestons Lucky Chip $52,837; 7. SBD Corazon $50,033; 8. Aberdeen Seelster $49,585; 9. Rocks Fantasy $48,385; 10. P C Foreign Affair (t) $48,237

In the money percentage (win-place-show/starts, minimum 24 starts): 1. Special Achiever 82 pct.; 2. Fox Valley Charliz 70 pct.; 3. Machlicious 68 pct.; 4. Ravishin Ruby 68 pct.; 5. Astor 65 pct.; 6. Teeter 65 pct.; 7. Statement 63 pct.; 8. Swizzle Hanover (t) 63 pct.; 9. Admiral 62 pct.; 10. Cinnamon Stick (t) 62 pct.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Harness racing: Taggart, Petrelli take titles at Monticello Raceway