Stratton added to St. Paddy driver slate at Monticello

The surname Stratton is not very Irish in heritage so how  is Jordan “The Kid” Stratton eligible to race in Monticello Raceway’s St. Paddy Pace,  a race for drivers of Irish descent, which is slated to go to post on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17?

“I have some Irish in me on my mother's side,” Stratton said. “In fact, I have a lot of everything in me. I can fit in almost all of Monticello’s the heritage races.

This year will mark the seventh edition of the Mighty M’s tribute race to the Irish which is named for the patron Saint of Ireland and the first year that 20-year-old Stratton will be participating.

Stratton, who is only in his second full year of professional competition, is a rising star in the industry and he’s currently second in races won at Monticello this season, already with 54 under his belt.

Stratton began his career at Monticello Raceway during the 2005 season driving in qualifying races when he was just 17 years of age. He began the 2006 campaign again driving in qualifiers and it wasn’t until May of that year that the judges awarded Stratton a provisional license.

In his first start against professional drivers at Monticello Raceway on May 29 he finished fourth with a pacer by the name of Recapture. In his very next start “The Kid” won his first pari-mutuel race with a horse trained by his dad David. That horse was Mediator and young Stratton won the race in a time of 1:57:1.

And thus began the career of Jordan David Stratton.

By season's end in 2006, “The Kid” had driven 30 winners and showed signs of brilliance in the sulky.

The next season Stratton was 19 years old--he turned 20 on June 30--and almost overnight he became a sought-after catch-driver as local trainers began to recognize his prowess. He finished the year with 285 wins, 284 seconds, 246 thirds and purses in excess of $1.82 million.

As the 2008 season rolled around Stratton found himself competing at Monticello Raceway in the afternoons and at Yonkers Raceway during the evenings. Thus far this year the youngster has reined 77 winners overall, good for 19^th place on the North American leaderboard.

Stratton, along with Hall of Fame horseman Jim Doherty, Jimmy Marohn, John Gilmour, Mike Doherty and Jimmy Marohn Jr., will be among the Irishmen competing in the Mighty M’s St. Paddy Pace next Monday.

The St. Paddy Pace will be race number six on the 10-race card that afternoon. First post is slated for 1:10 p.m. (Monticello)

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