Strict Whip Rules for Monmouth Meet; Small Card Drawn For Opening Day

Sifting Sands, from the powerhouse Chad Brown stable, is among eight 3-year-olds (plus one main track only entrant) set to go in the $100,000 Jersey Derby that will serve as the feature race for opening day of Monmouth Park’s 76th Thoroughbred season on Friday.

First race post time for the six-race twilight card is 5 p.m.

The track had to struggle to fill six races for the first card of the season and has just 44 entries plus one main track only and 14 jockeys. Riders are boycotting the track because of strict whip rules which ban the use of the riding crop except for emergency purposes. Riders from Puerto Rico and Finger Lakes among other places have mounts on the first day of racing.

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The 2020 leading trainer at Monmouth KELLY BREEN told Asbury Park Press that he was concerned about the rule and the boycott.

Here are the 14 riders currently with mounts on Monmouth Park’s opening day card on Friday:

Jose Baez – Has been riding at Finger Lakes.

Isaac Castillo – Won 21 races at Monmouth Park last year.

Kieber Coa – Was riding at Tampa Bay, then most recently at Pimlico.

Jose Ferrer – Has been riding at Monmouth Park for nearly four decades.

Sean Gilpin – Turf Paradise rider with 21 career mounts.

Derbe Glass – Has two career mounts, both in 2019.

Carlos Hernandez – Won 15 races at Monmouth Park last year.

Tomas Mejia – Won 14 races at Monmouth last year.

Carlos Montalvo – Has been riding at Gulfstream.

Christian Navarro – Last rode in 2019 at Camerearo, Puerto Rico.

Luis Ocasio – Has been riding at Parx.

Jorge Panaijo – Won four races at Monmouth Park last year.

Luis R. Reyes – Has been at Camerero, Puerto Rico, with mounts on Thursday.

Jomar Torres – Won 15 races at Monmouth Park last year.

The Jersey Derby, scheduled for a mile on the grass, will be contested for the 78th time. It’s the oldest Derby in the United States, having first been run in 1864.

Trainers Kelly Breen (It’s A Gamble), Gregg Sacco (It Can Be Done) and Jerry Hollendorfer (Riptide Rock) will look to get off to fast starts for the 53-day meet in the Jersey Derby as well.

Owned by Peter Brant, Sifting Sands will be making just his fourth career start in the Jersey Derby. The Irish-bred son of Dubawi made his last start in the Woodhaven Stakes at Aqueduct on April 21.

Monmouth Park will conduct live racing four straight days over the Memorial Day weekend. Post times on Saturdays, Sundays and special Monday holiday cards throughout the meet is 12:15 p.m.