TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2006
PRESS RELEASE

JIM FOLEY WINS CALIFORNIA TVG SPRING AMATEUR SERIES

Contact: David Siegel (dsiegel@axcis.com)

Amateur Driver James Foley took the top honors winning the TVG Spring Amateur Driving Championship at Cal-Expo. Jim was the top net point getter in route to his first Californian title and in doing so won four and finished second four times in the fourteen races he participated during the series.

A total of seventeen races were included in the series at both gaits in a variety of classes. The weather was terrific during the series run that began in late March and concluded this past Saturday with Benny Alvarez taking the final event with his charge, Romantic Sign ($22.00). Once again, the California Amateur Driving Club (CADC), continued to be a model for other clubs, received great support from the Sacramento Harness Association (SHA) and the horsemen. The highlight of the spring was the East-West Challenge where five of the nations top Billings drivers came to Sacramento for a five-race series in early April.

As the series champion, Foley will represent the CADC in the Tim Fouts Memorial Pace, which will be run the Sunday prior to the Little Brown Jug in September. CADC president and series runner-up David Siegel noted, “Jim will make a great representative for the Golden State. He is one of the great examples of how important amateur driving is to develop up and coming drivers. One year ago, a then 22-year old Tim Clevenger took the championship trophy and has since moved to Canada with a nice sized stable of horses. This year it’s Jim’s turn to get into the spotlight, and at 20 years of age, has a bright future ahead of him. Amateur driving also serves as a carrot for folks to get involved with ownership. Guys like myself or Dein Spriggs, who visited us during the East-West Challenge, likely would not be involved to the extent we are without the driving opportunity.”

Siegel further commented, "Chris Schick and the SHA understand the benefits of amateur racing and we so much appreciate their support. Our club is still a work in progress. We seek to improve the interest in our races from the fans perspective to help handle, but also to do a better job to attract new owners. While I am very pleased with our first 12 months of existence, we are open to any change that will improve the landscape for racing in California.”

For information about the CADC, please visit www.thecadc.com.