Oh, if only Joe Faraldo knew how many
times he had to go around on the half mile track in a mile and a quarter
race perhaps he could have won two races tonight(July 28) at Cesena and
boosted the USA’s chances to at least make things closer in the
Italian-American Challenge. But thank goodness for Tony Verruso and Alan
Schwartz yelling out “Joe, we got a another round to go,” did Joe start to drive
again before pulling up thinking he had won”.
In the end the very heavy favorite driven by one
of the three Italian champions they threw at the Americans, just buggy
rode past a newly awakened Faraldo who ended –up second” said Alan
Schwartz who garnered the show dough in that contest.
But Faraldo’s mistake was indeed costly. But
truthfully, no one was beating the Italian champion even with a fautless
drive. Verruso and Ciufettelli faced a wall of blocking Italians who
demonstrated the art of team racing and how to measure points.
In the next race, at a one mile distance, Joe
once again found the front with “Only One Diamond” and he backed
into every challenger over a measured first half and then poured on the gas for
a faster last half to win for the second time in the six race
USA-Italy Challenge. Tony Verruso, the Billings capo finished third after a
little traffic trouble.
All in all, the lost ground on day
one couldn’t be made up but the American team was valiant in their
efforts in the last four races of the challenge.
“The Italians put a hurtin on us early as we got
acclimated to their driving style and we had to wade through the myriad
of detailed instructions” said Alan Schwartz, the American with the most
wins of any US competing amateur today.
After all was said and done, the Italians, from
Moretti, Ruffato, Zorretto, the brothers Mecheloto and Stefano De Lano could
not have been more understanding and accommodating to their American friends.
Touring Venice and Padova, a trip to the most
famous Scuderia of the Biauzzi , to the he most enjoyable lunches and
dinners at some of the finest restaurants in the Veneto region, especially the
Villa Italia, in Padova the Italians treated their visitors like royalty
sparing no expense to make team America feel most welcome just as
the French had recently for a team of Americans in May.
The intent now is to have the Italians
come to America, perhaps around the time of the famed Hambletonian in
August of 2018 for a rematch and hopefully for America, some final
revenge.
Truly making friends abroad, cultivating interest in
our product and hoping to see a renaissance in Italy’s harness racing as well
as worldwide, takes work nothing else suffices. Many of the Italians are still
interested in American blood and also wish to see the books of America and
France opened for the betterment of the sport.
According to Joe Faraldo, “ when you hear Italian or
other languages spoken at a US sale, like Harrisburgh or Lexington,
remember these are people who love our sport and in Italy they are
demonstrating much patience and love for the sport as you can see from the note
below, and how they are all coping with a less than ideal situation.
'An interesting aside to the Italian trip concerns the
Hippodromo (racetrack in Padova ) which because of the government’s pull back
of support for the industry, initially was just shut down. But then after three
years it reopened with a disco open every evening with live music to
attract young people despite racing only two days a week. On those two days the
food at the track is free, but for drinks you must pay. There is outdoor
seating with umbrellas at each table and areas some for children to play.
As one might imagine attendance is up and so is wagering. In short, the track
has been resurrected from the dead.
The government still has the industry in a state of
limbo and the horsemen have to wait seven months to get paid purse money and
there’s always the chance in Italy, that it might never happen. Like
horsemen all over the world who keep this game going, those in Italy are
survivors, because they truly love this sport."
In Cesana, the track was so soft and perfect for
the horses, not so much just for the timer. One could not hear these beautiful
animals as they navigated this half mile oval near the sea. While we will not
be there Saturday evening we are told the place is sold out.
Apparently they are still doing somethings very, very right.”
