|
MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2006 WEST NIPS EAST AT THE WIRE AT THE EAST-WEST CHALLENGE Contact: David Siegel (dsiegel@axcis.com) While Team East knew that Sacramento was some ninety miles
from the Pacific Ocean, they believed they might have actually been racing
in it during the 2nd (of 5) legs of the East-West Amateur Driving Challenge
that took place at Cal-Expo this past weekend. The first leg ended up in a point tie between the two
squads as West member Tim Clevenger's Keep Cool N ($7.40) won by open
lengths. Then it was the skies that opened and the track went from fast
to sloppy in a matter of minutes. By the time the 8th race came, the track
was ocean-like on the surface and presented an extra challenge for the
"Challenge" participants. The track itself was in great shape
just below the surface as the track crew was well prepared for Mother
Nature's onslaught. Dein Spriggs took the second leg piloting Oriole Angus
($5.60) to a 1-length victory. That win put Team East two points ahead
of Team West, 43 to 41. The skies cleared on Saturday. The Eastern invaders were
treated to a tour of the State Capitol by Steve Chambers (tour guide extraordinaire)
and a visit to Sacramento's Old Town, which is a throwback to the gold
rush era. The competition resumed with the third race on Saturday, the
Challenge's only trot. Dave Siegel drove Kerri's Choice ($29.20) to a
three-quarters length victory with the longest shot winner of the Challenge
over Well Don N with Dein Spriggs in the bike. Combined with a 3-4-5 finish
by the balance of Team West, the win put Left Coasters ahead by twelve
points. The teams had to wait a few minutes for the outcome of
leg 4 as three geldings hit the wire within a whisker of each other. The
poloroid went the way of Team East as Alan Schwartz drove the free-legged
pacer Perfect Chief ($11.80) to a three-inch margin of victory over Green
Fields with Jason Maier and TK Diehard with Dave Siegel, which finished
about one inch apart in second and third respectively. The skilled piloting
of Schwartz put Team East right back in it, behind just six points with
one leg to go. Northfield Park's director of Racing Greg Keidell took
the last leg driving Hoosier Best ($7.20) to a half-length victory over
Jason Maier's True Believer. However, due to the strong finish of the
also-rans of the West Coasters, Team West eked out the Challenge victory
with a final point tally of 118 to 111. www.thecadc.com/standings_EastWest06.html Dein Spriggs, Tony Verruso, Al Schwartz, Greg Keidell
and Tom Williams, five of the top ten ranked C.K.G. Billings drivers from
2005 well represented the East. The Golden Staters, using their home field
advantage were Tim Clevenger, Dave Siegel, Susan Boyce, Jason Maier and
Benny Alvarez. "I cannot begin to describe how much we owe to so
many people for making the Challenge the huge success that it was",
said CADC president and Challenge participant David Siegel. "The
horsemen were so supportive filling the races as they did and I am so
impressed with the number of them that see the many benefits of amateur
racing in general, and such a special event as the Challenge, in particular.
Our operator, the Sacramento Harness Association (SHA) gave this event
incredible support contributing to the travel expenses of our guests,
wonderful TV and Radio coverage, and having the foresight to see the value
to the fans, bettors, amateur drivers and for the long-term health of
the sport. Working with the horsemen to have full fields and competitive
races would not have been possible without the hard work of the Fred Kuebler
and his capable race office staff and the great cooperation of the horsemen.
CADC secretary Steve Chambers, good-will ambassador for California harness
racing dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" to ensure
that all of the needs of Team East were taken care of. Finally, to have
been honored in the presence of the best amateur drivers in the country,
making the 3000-mile trip for five races is just a testament to their
dedication to our industry. It was truly a team effort on so many dimensions
and in a time of many distractions from what is good about racing, it
was so refreshing to have such great camaraderie off the track with such
great competition on the track" said Siegel. SHA General Manager Chris Schick summed it all up by saying,
"This is what harness racing is all about. We are happy to support
the efforts of the Amateur Club and look forward to hosting the Challenge
again in 2007. It was a great success." |