By Andy Simek
MONTICELLO — July 10, 2007 — As Larry Roman put it, “The Catskill region is the most beautiful place on earth. It’s only appropriate that we have the most beautiful and intelligent women, too.”
Roman was talking about the 39 lovely ladies who competed Sunday afternoon in the preliminary round of the 15th Annual Ms. Monticello Raceway Pageant.
The pageant, which is sponsored by Roman, a prominent horse owner and part-time Kauneonga Lake resident, was held at Mighty M Gaming and Raceway. Ladies from all over Sullivan County, the Hudson Valley and beyond participated in the event.
This preliminary round eliminated 22 out of 39 competitors, leaving only 17 women left to compete in the final round.
The contestants were judged in two rounds. A panel of six judges awarded points to each lady in the swimsuit competition and the evening gown competition.
Roman also asked each contestant a question during the swimsuit and evening gown competitions.
All 17 finalists were awarded $100 on top of a minimum $100 bet on one of the afternoon’s horse races.
The 17 finalists who will be competing for the title of Ms. Monticello Raceway – 2007 on Sunday, July 15 are: Jessica Bullock of South Fallsburg, Ashley Devries of Pine Bush, Laila Gillies of Yonkers, Patrice Hamilton of Middletown, Christine Hoffman of Wurtsboro, Chelsey Hughes of Otisville, Nicole Kissinger of Selkirk, Samantha Krieger of Highland, Destiny Langlois of Bethel, Jennifer Lingle of Warwick, Daniela Perruna of Campbell Hall, Erin Rosenberger of Callicoon, Sonia Sehkon of Chester, Brianna Surkis of Highland, Ashli Tolli of Rock Hill, Maribel Velezquez of the Bronx and Brianna Zambito of Newburgh.
The prizes for the winner, first runner-up and second runner-up will be $7,500, $2,500 and $1,000, respectively.
Sunday’s final round will begin at 12:45 p.m. at Monticello Raceway.