Monmouth eyes Book'em Danno homecoming ahead of Haskell weekend
Book'em Danno could return to Monmouth on July 17, giving Haskell weekend a New Jersey-bred star and a louder betting stage. The track wants a free-admission homecoming for Oceanport residents.
Monmouth Park is trying to turn Book'em Danno into more than a racehorse on the page. The Jersey Shore track is negotiating for the Eclipse Award-winning sprinter to come home on Friday, July 17, the day before the GI Haskell Stakes, with chairman and CEO Dennis Drazin calling for a special “Book'em Danno day” that would include community involvement and free admission for Oceanport residents.
That timing would put one of the sport’s sharpest Jersey-breds right in the middle of Monmouth’s biggest summer sales pitch. July 17 is already on the 2026 schedule for the $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes, and the Haskell itself is a $1 million Grade 1 race that anchors a meet running from May 9 through Sept. 13. With 36 stakes races worth $5.85 million on the calendar, Monmouth is trying to give fans a weekend that feels like an event, not just a racing card.
Book'em Danno gives the track a homegrown hook it can market. The gelding is 10-for-17 lifetime with nearly $1.9 million in earnings, unbeaten in three starts at Monmouth, and fresh off being named New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year again in 2025. He won the 2025 True North Stakes, the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes and the Forego Stakes, a run that turned him from a regional favorite into one of the country’s more recognizable sprint names.
His pedigree adds to the local angle. Book'em Danno was bred in New Jersey by Gregory Kilka and Bright View Farm, and he is a son of Bucchero out of the Ghostzapper mare Adorabella. That matters to Monmouth’s state-bred program because a horse like this is proof that New Jersey can produce a horse worth circling on a national stage, then bring him back to drive interest at home.
Trainer Derek Ryan confirmed the talks and said the appearance is penciled in for now, with the next step still the GIII True North Stakes at Saratoga on June 6. If Book'em Danno comes through that race, Monmouth will have the kind of July centerpiece that can lift the on-track atmosphere, sharpen the betting menu around a deep stakes weekend and give the Haskell lead-in a storyline casual fans will recognize immediately. In a summer built on leverage, a local sprint star may be the clearest one Monmouth has.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
