By John Manzi
MONTICELLO — March 26, 2010 — Speed was the order of the day at Monticello Raceway on Tuesday afternoon, March 23 when 12 of the 13 races all were timed in 1:59.4 or faster, with a 1:56:4 clocking turned in by both Bluehill Cami and DJ Wonder.
And adding to the festivities of the day, the very talented Jason  Bartlett scored three winners on the card.
Former two-time driving champion here, Stephane Bouchard, made his inaugural appearance and guided Bluehill Cami to a gate to wire two-length triumph in 1:56.4.
And not to be outdone, the meet’s leading driver, Bruce Aldrich Jr., reined DJ Wonder to  his second consecutive victory,  matching Bluehill Cami’s 1:56.4 clocking. The former is owned by Bouchard and John Tourloukis, while Libertino Arrigo pays the bills on the latter.
Bartlett made his second consecutive Mighty M appearance and piloted three winners on the card. He scored behind Ronald Sabatini’s Jade Stone in 1:59.1 and won in 1:57.3 with the good looking 4-year-old pacer Rescue Plan. Bartlett made it three wins-in-a-row when he guided Ala Cart Bill home first in a time of 1:58.2.
The latter two winners are owned by Bulletproof Enterprises.
Even former Little Brown Jug winner, Cactus Creek, now the property of Reginald Duguay,  rambled to an easy four-length triumph in 1:57.3 for Jimmy Marohn Jr., which was one of three wins on the card for young Marohn. He also scored behind Blue Demon Racing Stable’s Rainin Fire in 1:59.3 and with Ed and David Reich and Mike Bilotti’s Color Library in 2:00.2.
Also of note was that Greg Merton won another race and now has 2,989 as he moved ever closer to the milestone of 3,000 career wins.
In addition, Jordan Stratton returned to his home track and drove two winners.
And the fans must have liked the afternoon’s performances  since they poured over $732,000 through the mutual machines both on and off track.