Jim Taggart Jr. wins 4 at Monticello

October 17, 2019

By: Shawn Wiles

Monticello – On Wednesday afternoon October 16, Jim Taggart Jr won 4 races on a soggy afternoon at the famed Catskill Mountains oval.

Taggart wasted no time in getting on the board as he scored a 2 length victory in the first race with Needles And Pins in 1:57.3 ($2.90) for trainer Anthony Regina, giving the aged mare by Village Jove her 7th win of the year.  Next up in race 6 was Coco Hall in 2:01.1 ($3.50) owned by Brenda Messenger and Scott Woogen for trainer Gary Messenger, the 5-year-old Amigo Hall mare has won 4 of her last 6 outings.  Keystone Honor gave Taggart his 3rd win, the Dennis Laterza trained son of Bettors Delight won by 5 lengths in 1:57.2 and returned $10.60.  In the last race is was Angelic Speed in 2:04.1 ($2.20) the win gave Gary Messenger a training double on the card.

The four wins on the card helped Taggart boost his seasonal win tally to 198 wins for the year, gaining ground on leading dash winner Michael Merton with 207.