Simmonds win MLK Pace

Monticello Raceway’s sixth annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr Pace last Friday was won by Donald Simmonds, who could have lamented "if at first you don't suceed, try, try again," as he was finally able to find a spot in the sulky in race for African-American drivers.

“For the past three years I have been trying to get into this race and had been told, 'You're second on the list or you’ll get the next call,' but this year I finally got into it (the race) and not only was it a lot of fun I was lucky enough to win it,” Simmonds told one of the local television reporters in the paddock after the race.

Simmonds, up behind Philip Beliawsky’s Quick Yankee, bided his time until the top of the stretch and then rallied his pacer down the center of the track to score an easy 1 1/2-length victory in a time of 2:02.2 in the race which honored the legacy of the great civil rights leader.

“Actually the way things went (in the race) I knew at the half I’d be a winner,” the articulate 32-year-old horseman said. “After Boonie, (Bobby Williams Jr with Scoleala A), got the field by the half in a swift :58:4-- at least for these caliber horses--I knew his horse would come back to us and being in the two hole with cover all the way I knew my horse would be strong in the lane.”

Simmonds could not have been more correct with his assessments. His thoughts became realities as Quick Yankee paced by the leader in the final turn and had no trouble rebuffing any challenges en route to his first seasonal triumph. Second place went to Dennis Watson with Three Finger Brown and George Teague Jr. finished third behind Chai Sign.

If ever eight drivers were happier after racing against one another than were the competitors in the MLK Pace, it's a safe bet no one has yet witnessed it. They all gathered in a corner of the paddock, around a local television reporter, and waited their turn to be interviewed on camera while congratulating each other, joking and telling stories. It certainly was a sight to behold.

Drivers (and their horses) who finished fourth through eighth in the MLK Pace were: George Newell Jr. (Cable Beach); Allan Johnson (Herb Albert); Williams (Scoleala A); George Polk Jr.(Richies Dream); and James Ofarrow (Al My Mite). (with files from MonticelloO

« Back