Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The morning-line odds have been released for Saturday's $500,000 Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park. Kentucky Derby and Preakness champ Big Brown is the 2-1 favorite in the 11 horse field, a significant difference from the 1-2 the colt was for the Haskell Invitational.
Big Brown will be taking on older thoroughbreds for the first time in the turf race at 1 1/8 miles. If all 11 go, Big Brown will face a wide variety of grass runners with whom he will have to deal.
The 7-2 second choice is Shakis, a two-time winner of the Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga. The eight-year-old is a veteran of 32 races with seven victories for $685,532. Since May of 2007 he has hit the board six times in nine starts. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Shakis will break from post three, immediately to the inside of Big Brown. Local rider Joe Bravo will add his knowledge of the Monmouth turf course to Shakis' effort.
Lightly raced Proudinsky is the 4-1 third pick in the program. The five-year- old is coming off a sixth-place finish to Shakis as the 5-2 favorite in the Bernard Baruch. Leaving from post six, Ramon Dominguez will have the reins for owner Gary Tanaka and trainer Bobby Frankel. Proudinsky has just 12 career starts with four wins and $557, 807. This year he won the Mervin Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap at the Fair Grounds, but was 11th in the Manhattan Handicap.
A horse that is cross-entered in the $250,000 PTHA President's Cup at Philly Park is Silver Tree. The eight-year-old is 6-1 for the Monmouth Stakes, but the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Philly race, which is also 1 1/8 miles on the turf. If Silver Tree remains in the Monmouth, he will be running on familiar ground, having won the Oceanport Stakes at the Jersey Shore track. Trained by Bill Mott for Peter Vegso, Silver Tree has won 14 of 40 career starts with 10 seconds and four times as show. His lifetime earnings of better than $1.7 million is the second highest in the field to Big Brown's $3.3 million,
Several of the 11 entrants will be on or near the lead in the Monmouth Stakes. Possible pace-setters are Proudinsky, Hotstufanthensome, Kiss the Kid, Get Serious and Fagedaboudit Sal.
Big Brown will be using Saturday's race as his final prep before the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on October 25. Trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr., with the ownership group, have decided that a turf race will best prepare the colt for Santa Anita's synthetic main track.
I doubt that Big Brown will go off at 2-1 when the gates open. He will likely be bet down to even-money or less. However, if all 11 start Shakis and Silver Tree will have to be included in the exotics, with Shakis singled for win. .
