Reider looking to build on opening night success
By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
Trainer
George Reider got off to a fast start on opening night, posing for a pair of
pictures with Big Baller and V Mack, and he’s looking forward to many more
trips to the winner’s circle in the near future.
Big
Baller is an 8-year-old trotter who is owned by Reider along with Greg
Robinson, Doc Creech and Bob Thronson, while V Mack is a 4-year-old pacer who
is new to the West Coast and carries the banner of his trainer and Dave, Rob
and Kimberly Haness. Dave Siegel guided Big Baller while Luke Plano did the
honors behind V Mack.
Big
Baller is a California-bred who was a multiple Sire Stakes victor in his
younger days with upwards of $270,000 in his bank account and V Mack is an
Iowa-bred who appears to have found a new home if last weekend’s strong finish
is any indication.
“We
had a successful meet up at Running Aces, but we’re always glad to come back to
California,” Reider said. “Summers are pretty good for us up in Minnesota and
we always seem to replace a lot of horses and come back here with some nice
stock. V Mac, Walker Meister and Outlawdangruswatrs were all good finds up
there.
“Dave
Siegel did his homework and found Big Baller out of a sale for us and I have a
few more horses that are new to California that will be starting in the next
few weeks.”
Saturday
night will find the Reider barn sending out six performers, including Big
Baller and V Mack, who are seeking repeat scores in the fourth and tenth races,
respectively. Outlawdangruswatrs will represent the shedrow in the featured
Open I Pace.
“It’s
going to be an exciting winter and here’s hoping that everybody has a safe and
successful meet,” summed up Reider. We couldn’t have said it any better,
George.
Cowboy Cold eyes an encore in main
event
Cowboy
Cold, fresh from a coast-to-coast score on opening night, heads the cast for
Saturday night’s featured $5,000 Open I Handicap Pace.
A
14-card is on tap Saturday night under the Watch and Watch LLC banner with a
first post of 6:10 p.m. The main event will go as the fifth race on the evening
and a field of seven will face starter Ken Fowler with Cowboy Cold assigned the
outside slot.
The
Cal Expo racing schedule finds the trotters and pacers in action on Saturday
night for the next two weeks, with Saturday and Sunday programs set for November
14 through December 27. The schedule will expand to three nights a week in
January with Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening cards.
Getting
back to the feature, Cowboy Cold is an 8-year-old son of Cheyenne Rei who
carries the banner of Kc C Carvalho with Luke Plano reining and training. He
has five wins on the year from 13 trips to the post, including a lifetime-best
1:52 3/5 tour at Running Aces last month.
Sent
off the 9-5 choice in the opening night headliner, Cowboy Cold went right to
the front for Plano and never looked like a loser. At the wire, he had three
and a quarter lengths on his nearest rival in a 1:55 1/5 performance.
Completing
the field, from the rail out: Four Starz Louie (Frank Petrelli); Real Attitude;
Endeavors King (Chip Lackey); Outlawdangruwatrs (David Siegel); Quality Sport
(Steve Wiseman); and Natives Revenge (Mooney Svendsen).
******
A reminder that there are two wagers
on the program that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate. They are the
50-cent Pick 5, which this season features a 25 percent minor pool payout; and
the 20-cent Pick 4, which comes with a $25,000-guaranteed gross pool.
