By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
There are two wagers offered
here each night with a reduced 16 percent takeout, and one lucky patron at the
California satellite in Monterey saw the impact first-hand last Friday when
they held the only winning ticket in the 20-cent Pick 4 that returned a
whooping $33,644.
To put things in perspective,
using the regular takeout, that ticket would have been worth $30,039, which is
still a very nice score but a difference of $3,605.
Using a ticket that went 4 by
4 by 2 by 3 for a cost of $19.20, the patron was able to string together
longshots Winonefordoug and Place At The Beach while finishing up the sequence
with a well-regarded pair of performers in 5-2 shot Art Genta and 3-1 Nutmegs
Desire.
In addition to the 20-cent
Pick 4, which comes with a $30,000-guaranteed gross pool, the reduced 16
percent takeout is also offered on the 50-cent Pick 5, which covers the first
five events each evening.
***
Friday’s program at Cal Expo
is headed by the Gary Budahn Trot Prep and a $6,600 Filly and Mare Open Pace.
The field for the Budahn Prep
will line up this way from the rail out: Rss Express, Silverlode, Franky
Provolone, Winsom Kelly, Livid Luke, Dougs Hobby Horse, Cadet and Franks Best.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s
card, the finals of the Shelly Goudreau and Robert Gordon will highlight the
action with last week’s elimination winners Major Jessie and Mystery Dragon and
Lucky Ivan and Cantholdmeback heading their respective races.
Delightfully Wild
returns with a huge effort
Despite being away from the
wars for four months, Delightfully Wild was up to the task in last week’s Filly
and Mare Open Pace and got the job done off a pocket trip by a neck with Luke
Plano giving directions.
The daughter of Bettor’s
Delight goes about her business for Richard Morita and David Yamada with Lino
Pacheco training and the 1:54 1/5 final clocking shaved a tick off her previous
lifetime mark.
“What a nice surprise to end
2017,” said Morita. “We bought Delightfully a little over a year ago at the
Delaware sale. We were fortunate that Gretchen Smith was there and looked over
a number of horses for Dave and me.
“As it turned out, Wild was
for sale on the last day and we got her. Sometimes the ‘best buys’ are the ones
you don't get, and we were lucky to get her after missing on some of our
earlier bids.
“She has been solid for us
right from the beginning, but really started to blossom in the spring here, and
in Chicago over the summer. We gave her a nice break after a hard year of
racing and she has trained back really well.
“We certainly didn't expect
to win the Open after just one slow qualifier, but Lino has kept her sharp and
has been impressed with how strong she has become. Credit for our horses'
success is due to our trainer and drivers, who do a great job.”
Morita points out that
Delightfully Wild is a case in point. “She had a tendency to get on a
line, sometimes making it hard to keep her straight, but she seems to have
matured and now can better use her speed. Our drivers have done a nice job with
her, including Jim Lackey, Ryan Anderson, and now Luke.”
