By Mark Ratzky, publicity –
Cal Expo Harness
An Open Trot featuring Its a
Horse and Silverhill Volo and a Filly and Mare Open Pace headed by Delightfully
Wild hold the spotlight at Cal Expo Friday evening.
A 12-race card is on tap
under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 6:10 p.m. The main
events are scheduled as the second and third races on the program.
Its A Horse is a 6-year-old
son of Full Count who is owned by Ray Alan Miller, takes his lessons from Marco
Rios and will once again have the services of Gerry Longo.
The Ohio-bred trotter made
his local debut on December 28 and posted a facile five and a quarter length
score at odds of 9-1 in an Open II affair, then moved up to the top level for
his most recent appearance and did an encore from well off the pace while again
motoring away in the final stages.
Silverhill Volo was runner-up
in that contest after setting some of the fractions and accounted for the
December 15 Open while rewarding his many backers as the 1-2 choice. Chip
Lackey owns, trains and drives the 8-year-old son of Muscle Hill.
Delightfully Wild is a
6-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight who competes for Richard Morita and
David Yamada with Jessie Pacheco training and has James Kennedy in the sulky.
After a needed effort in the
December 29 Open after returning from Pennsylvania, the bay miss was ready to
rock and roll in last week’s clash at the head of the class and made every pole
a winning one as the 6-5 favorite over a sloppy track.
Low takeout wagers,
added simulcasts featured
A pair of wagers that come
with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate and added simulcast action from Woodbine
Mohawk Park in Canada spice the action here at Cal Expo.
Legislation that took effect
January 1 allows a full card of international harness simulcasting to our
California patrons. The new law is applicable on nights of live racing only and
California fans can now look forward to harness action from Woodbine Mohawk
Park every Friday and Saturday evening.
The two wagers offered here
with the reduced 16 percent takeout rate are the 50-cent Pick 5, which begins
on the first race; and the 20-cent Pick 4. The Pick 4 guaranteed pools have now
been raised, with a $30,000 guarantee on Fridays and a $40,000 guarantee on
Saturdays.
