By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
Pacing fillies and mares are
spotlighted on Saturday evening’s Cal Expo program, with the $10,000 Gary
Budahn Final and the $7,000 Distaff Open headlining the action.
Watch and Wager LLC will
present 11 races Saturday with things getting under way at 6:10 p.m. The Budahn
goes as the third race and the Filly and Mare Open follows in the fourth-race
slot.
The Kathie Plested barn looks
strong in both events, represented by Dancingonthesand, Outlawintriguedbyu and
Fancy Little Girl in the Budahn and Capitol Hill and Outrageousdelightn in the
Open.
Capitol Hill is an 8-year-old
Badlands Hanover mare who recently went over the $100,000 earnings mark and
sports a 1:53 2/5 mark that was established two years ago. She races for George
McChrystal and Plested with Mooney Svendsen at the controls.
In last week’s clash at the
head of the ranks, Capitol Hill made every pole a winning, holding a clear
advantage every step of the way and coming to the line with three-quarters of a
length on Bettor Lady.
The latter has put together
three straight strong miles here for owners Richard Morita and David Yamada and
trainer Lino Pacheco. She was up in the final stride to hang a nose decision on
Capitol Hill in the February 23 Open, then put in a solid finish in last week’s
gathering for James Kennedy to complete the exacta.
Meanwhile, the Plested trio
in the Budahn will be challenged by the Bob Johnson-trained Pink Lady; the
James Kennedy trained-and-driven Lickcreek Speedway and Lookslikewemadeit from
the Richard Schneider shedrow.
***
There are two wagers offered
here each night that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate – the 50-cent
Pick 5 on the first five races and the 20-cent Pick 4.
The Pick 4 comes with a
$30,000 guaranteed gross pool on Fridays and a $40,000 guarantee on Saturdays.
