Monticello Raceway
Monticello Gaming and Raceway is a harness racing track and racino in Monticello, Sullivan County, New York. It is off Exit 104 of Route 17, on New York State Route 17B.
The racetrack is nicknamed "The Mighty M" and races standardbred horse races during the afternoons year-round. The current racetrack is a 1/2 mile oval. The track opened on June 27, 1958 in order to attract more people to Monticello's resort area.
Monticello Raceway is owned by Empire Resorts.
There have been attempts since 2000 to add a full-fledged Indian gaming casino operated by the St. Regis Mohawk tribe at the raceway, but they have been met with backlash. Several Atlantic City casino operators, including Donald Trump, fought the proposal. Trump was fined for not disclosing his lobbying efforts. In January 2008, Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior vetoed any Mohawk plans for a casino saying the Mohawk reservation on the Canada–United States border was too far from the track. The casino at the raceway operates under a state license permitting slot machines at designated race tracks.
In 2006, the track was the site of the so-called "Monticello Miracle", in which a racehorse hit World War II veteran Don Karkos in the exact spot where he had received shrapnel and lost sight in one of his eyes during a World War II naval battle. This blow caused him to regain his sight, most likely by dislodging the shrapnel.
