Book'em Danno (Bucchero), the best horse the New Jersey breeding program has produced in decades, will return to the Garden State and make his next start in the July 17 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park. The race will be run the day before the GI Haskell Stakes and the purse will be increased from $100,000 to $200,000.It will be Book'em Danno's first start in New Jersey since he won the July 19, 2024 Jersey Shore Stakes at Monmouth,“This has been in the works for a long time,” said Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team that operates the track. “We first discussed it as a team with them at the Eclipse Awards. Jay Briscione [who heads the Atlantic Six ownership partnership] has been terrific in trying to get us to showcase an Eclipse champion at Monmouth who is a New Jersey-bred. We anticipate we will increase the purse for the Mr. Prospector to $200,000, and he's going to run with us. We're excited about it. We're going to turn it into a Book'em Danno day. We are going to give free admission to Oceanport residents and we're going to try to do some special things to promote the horse. Book'em Danno is the best Jersey-bred in modern times and we're excited to do everything we can to promote the horse. This should be a great prelude to Haskell Day.”Trainer Derek Ryan said he is pleased to give something back to New Jersey.“We're going to run him in Jersey,” he said. “The owners are all local guys and Dennis Drazin has been very accommodating and wants to have a Book'em Danno Day before the Haskell. It's fitting because he's a Jersey-bred and the owners are all from around here. Dennis been very good to us. We think that running him at Monmouth is doing the right thing. Everyone will bring their family and friends.”The Mr. Prospector will be Book'em Danno's first start since an impressive win in the GIII True North Stakes Saturday at Saratoga. Though he won by just three-quarters of a length, he swept past GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Bentornato (Valiant Minister) in the stretch with a devastating kick. The move prompted race announcer Frank Mirahmadi to say he won “with condescending ease.”“That was the best race of his career,” Ryan said. “I honed on him for this race and I didn't hone on him for the Carter. I said he wasn't 100% for that race. He still should have won the last one, but that's OK. It's part of the game. When I knew Bentornato was going to be in there, I had to have him extra, extra sharp. You could see from his works. I've never been that hard on a horse coming into a race. I worked him in :59, :59, :36. That's not my style. I just knew I had to have him at 100% to beat Bentornato.”The Jersey-bred was somewhat of a controversial Eclipse Award winner because he skipped the Breeders' Cup, while Bentornato showed up and won. But Ryan hopes the True North put the issue to rest, that he proved he has the better horse.“So now we've beaten him twice, in the Saudi Derby and yesterday,” Ryan said. “He's 2-0 against him. Like with Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali, when you're 2-0 against another fighter, you've proven you're the best. We won the Eclipse Award because of our body of work, which was unbelievable. And we proved it yesterday.”Book'em Danno is now 5-for-6 at Saratoga, but Ryan said that “you have to run your ass off to win up there.” He's hoping the Monmouth race won't be that tough.“I need to get an easy race into him, though I shouldn't say that because some son of a bitch will come in there and make us run,” he said. “That's usually how it happens. You think you're getting an easy race into a horse and along comes some longshot to bust your ass.”Ryan said he wasn't sure where Book'em Danno would run after the Mr. Prospector, but said a return engagement in the GI Forego Stakes at Saratoga is a possibility.The post Book’em Danno to Head Home to Monmouth for his Next Start appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.