By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
There are two bets offered
here each night that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate, those being
the 50-cent Pick 5 and the 20-cent Pick 4.
The Pick 5 is offered on the
first five races each night, while the Pick 4 is held on the final four races
on the card. In addition, on Saturday nights there is a $50,000-guaranteed pool
for the Pick 4, with a $40,000 guarantee on Fridays.
To give you some idea how
this low takeout translates into real money, last Friday evening’s Pick 4
contested over a sloppy track saw favorites struggling and resulted in a
$4,408.96 payoff for each correct 20-cent ticket.
Using the regular takeout
rate, the payoff would have been $3,936, a difference of a cool $472 per
winning ducket.
The tone for last Friday’s
sequence was set by Rockinaroundheaven, who appeared to have his work cut out
from the No. 8 post, but Chip Lackey let his charge fall well back early and
then made a steady first-over move to the lead in the stretch while obviously
loving the off going.
Directing Traffic likewise
came from well back to capture the featured Filly and Mare Open for trainer
Junior Wilkinson and pilot Luke Plano, while Laissemoipicoler used late heroics
to post an $18 upset in the penultimate leg.
That set the table for
Cordees Fantasy in the nitecap at 12-1 for the Richard Remillard/Gary Clark
combination. Like the other winners in the sequence, she left from an outside
post and took her time through the early stages, then rolled late through the
slop to get the job done.
Sire Stakes, Distaff
Open atop the marquee
The first $6,500 California
Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old pacing fillies and a $5,500 Filly and Mare Open
Pace get the spotlight treatment Saturday night at Cal Expo.
Things get underway at 6:10
p.m. under the Watch and Wager LLC banner, with the Sire Stakes going as the
second on the 11-race card, while the Distaff Open occupies the 10th-race
slot.
The field for the Sire Stakes
will line up this way: Glad to Meet Ya from the Junior Wilkinson barn with Luke
Plano guiding; the Robin Clements-trained Pep Rally with Steve Wiseman; James
Kennedy will guide Goturnumber for Gordie Graham; the Pierre Girard reined-and-trained
Lucky Seven Oflodi; and Brigitte Bordeaux for trainer Bob Johnson with Mooney
Svendsen handling the lines.
Directing Traffic, who last
week added her name to the distaffers who have captured a Filly and Mare Open
Pace at this meet, looks to do an encore in the co-featured Open.
Directing Traffic is a
6-year-old daughter of Real Desire from the Park Place mare Park It Ashley who
is owned by Junior Wilkinson and Billie Schwartz, takes her lessons from
Wilkinson and will once again have Luke Plano giving directions.
In last week’s clash at the
head of the class over a sloppy racetrack, the bay mare was reserved early and
sat double digits off the leader in the opening stages. She began to pick up
some momentum from the outside on the final bend, then stormed home in the
stretch to win going away by two and a half lengths.
Shesamysterytome will be
looking to make amends after checking in third as the 6-5 favorite in last
week’s Distaff Open. She was hard used on the front end on an off track that
favored closers as the night progressed and looms large for owners Ashlee
Sluggett and Trevor Williams and driver/trainer Ryan Grundy.
