It's not the kind of thing that you would want to do every weekend, but Rob Sparling Jr. had reason to give thanks this weekend.
It all started on Friday night when his lady Karen gave birth to their healthy eight pound, three ounce baby girl, Avery. It was a rough night for Rob, but he managed to pull through!
His next ordeal came when he was assigned the announcers booth to call the third race at Leamington. In that one he had to withstand an inquiry, as he called Jeff Millers' first win of the year with a wire-to-wire performance aboard Michael Doersams' longshot Villefrenche ($66.80).
Finally, to add to the rise in blood pressure, Sparling Jr. hopped in the bike to win two with Victorys Peanut ($2.60) for owner/trainer B J Leon of Maidstone, Ont. in 2:05.3, and then with Blissfullannmarie ($41.70) in 2:01.1. The longshot is owned by Don Wilkins of Bothwell, Ont. and trained by Cathy Gaudreau.
Racing continues tomorrow and the next two Sundays with post time at 1:30 p.m.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Leamington Raceway.
(With files from Leamington Raceway)