Doherty looking for luck of the Irish in St. Paddy Pace

Hall of Fame horseman Jim Doherty will be among the drivers competing when Monticello Raceway presents it eighth edition of the St. Paddy Pace on Monday, March 17.

The race, relegated to drivers of Irish descent, will be presented on the day America pays tribute to the patron Saint of the Irish.

"How grand it is to have Hall of Famer Jim Doherty competing again in our St. Paddy Pace this year,” said Eric Warner, the track's director of racing. “Jim Doherty is one of the truly good guys in harness racing and if there’s an event to promote our sport he can always be counted on to participate.”

It seems the St. Paddy Pace has been sort of a Doherty family showplace since Jim won the race in 2004 and his son Michael was victorious in the inaugural contest in 2001.

Jim Doherty, from New Brunswick in the Canadian Maritimes, got his start  in the sport working for his father and then gravitated to New England where his exploits are legendary. In 1976 he moved his base of operations to the then newly-opened Meadowlands and has been a top driver there for decades. Duffy, as his old friends call him, is one of just three drivers to have won a race at the Meadowlands each year it has been open.

A consummate horseman, Doherty has developed countless champions including Fool’s Goal, No Nonsense Woman, Green With Envy and Starchip Entrprise, just to name a few. In his illustrious career he has driven 4,568 winners and his horses have earned in excess of $37.7 million. 

“It’s great to have Jim Doherty aboard but we still could use a few others to complete the field for this year’s St. Paddy Pace,” Warner added.

Any driver of Irish heritage interested in competing in the St. Paddy Pace is urged to contact Warner in the race office at Monticello Raceway by calling (845)794-4100 ext. 557 or they can call the track's publicity office at ext. 455. (Monticello)

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