Tuesday Thoughts

• The Haskell is officially on the radar screen for Triple Crown champion American Pharaoh. I really hope that he runs there--could you imagine the energy at Monmouth Park? Plus, Firing Line, second in the Derby, could wind up being on the same path to the Haskell. What a matchup!
• I know I brought this up in my column concerning Sunday's program, but I wish Monmouth would move the Monmouth Stakes to the Saturday after the Belmont. With its current position on the calendar, it gets obscured by the big race in New York. Besides, the feature this weekend is the not-so-big Restoration Stakes. This Saturday could use a big race.
• Auto-bettors struck numerous times on Saturday, as several horses had their odds drop to ridiculously low levels once the gates opened. I've always thought a good way to curb this would be for betting to close once there are "0" minutes to post (as opposed to when the gates open). That way, at least bettors would know what they're getting into once the horses are loaded in. Besides, then the race would have to go off with "0" minutes to post, as opposed to just putzing around behind the gate.
• Fun fact: four horses have won two races so far at Monmouth Park this year: Oak Bluffs, Freestyler, Light's Gone Wild, and Shesfromboston. Good for them!
• Paco Lopez has been dominating the Monmouth standings--as usual. He's leading the jockey earnings race by a longshot, he's leading in wins, and he's tied for best in-the-money percentage, with 51% of his horses coming in the top three. No surprises there.
• Speaking of jockeys, now that the Maryland season is over, look to see promising young Nik Juarez start getting more mounts. He had a great season down there, and hopes to do more damage riding here full-time. 
• Marcus Vitali isn't a household name, but he's quietly having a great meet training. He's second in the standings with seven wins, and he's been in-the-money with 62% of his horses. He's a trainer worth keeping an eye on.