Ruel (Dude) Goodblood, Jr., who came into this week with 4,236 trips to the winner’s circle, is enjoying his first venture to Cal Expo

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Along with his wife Whitney, he has brought four horses with him, including the 11-year-old Theater Production. That trotter pushed his bank account to over $266,000 with last week’s victory and is set to take on a tougher crew in Friday night’s (March 12) main event.

Dude, as he likes to be known, got the nickname at an early age.

“I was Ruel, Jr., but there was already someone in the family known as Junior, so my mom and dad starting calling me Dude and it stuck,” he explained.

“My father was a woodsman by trade, then he got into harness racing back in New England in the 1960s when he was past 30,” Goodblood explained. “For me, I knew I wanted to be in this sport the first time I ever touched a horse’s head, which is when I was about six years old.”

Dude won some 2,900 of his races while competing on the half-mile tracks in Maine between 1974 and 1994, and also has landed in the charmed enclosures of most of the major tracks in the East.

“Theater Production would have to be my favourite horse,” he explained. “We’ve had him since he was just a yearling. He won two legs of the Woodruff and two legs of the Horse and Groom at the Meadowlands, and he set a world record for a mile and a quarter at Colonial Downs.”

Goodblood also noted that his wife Whitney has her A license and will likely be seen in action here in the sulky some night before they head back to the East for the summer. He also made a point to say how much they appreciate the warmer temperatures.

Go Together Like Horse And Carriage

Some things are just great together, like peanut butter and jelly, and you can include the five-year-old Rods Famous Ribs and driver Lemoyne Svendsen on that list.

The pacer, who is owned by Pamela Mitchell in partnership with trainer Bob Johnson, made a dozen trips to the winner’s circle last season and Svendsen was along for the ride on 11 of those occasions.

This dynamic duo is coming off a narrow defeat at the hands of Pacific Admiral last week in a needed effort, and they join forces once again in Saturday night’s (March 13) co-feature where they figure to get plenty of respect at the windows.

“He’s one of my favourites, no question,” related Svendsen when asked about the son of Hi Ho Silverheels. “He’s an absolute Cadillac to drive, because he can leave a hundred, but you can also take him back with two fingers. The bottom line is that he’s all racehorse.”

In his most recent tour, which marked his first start in three weeks, Rods Famous Ribs came from last with a :27 flat final quarter and came within three-quarters of a length of getting to the hard-knocking Pacific Admiral in that 1:52.4 mile.

“Even though he didn’t win, I would have to say that’s the best race he’s ever gone for me,” Svendsen praised. “From where we were at the three-quarters, I would have been happy to just hit the board, and he almost won.

“I called him a Cadillac before, but on that night he was finishing the race like a Ferrari. Pacific Admiral is a very nice horse, but he got the jump on us and we just ran out of ground.”

While the latter is taking on Frankyluvsmeatbals this weekend in the Open Pace, Rods Famous Ribs and Svendsen suit up in an optional $20,000 claimer that finds them facing stablemate Ivegotwhatuneed, the tough-as-nails mare Sintillating, Ideally Magic, Star Time Kid and At Last. It should be interesting.

For the next three weeks at Cal-Expo, you can experience the thrill of riding in the starting-gate during a race when you make a donation to the V Foundation, named for the late North Carolina basketball coach Jim Valvano.

Sign-ups will be at the paddock on a first come, first serve basis, with two people joining starter Bill Vallandingham and driver Kenny Fowler for each race in what is guaranteed to be both exciting and educational.

A Super Way To Attack The High 5

A lot of wagering activity at Cal-Expo on Thursday night will be centered on the $3,762,32 carryover and the $12,500 estimated total pool in the early Super High 5 on the third race. Introduced in California just over a year ago, the Super High 5 has really caught on, especially when there is a carryover.

In hopes of giving you an insight into playing this wager, we went to track television handicapper Gregg Pistochini to get his thoughts on a strategy.

While acknowledging that the rewards can be very handsome, Gregg points out that when you’re trying to predict this many trotters or pacers in exact order, it’s far from an easy assignment. He has developed a method of attack on this wager and was asked to divulge the modus operandi.

“The Super High 5 is the most challenging single wager in the industry,” he related. “In my opinion, luck becomes too big a factor in the final spot, thus the ‘all button’ must be used.

“I like to find a single horse and key it in the top three spots. I will play three other horses in each of the remaining two spots to complete my top three. I will use five horses in the fourth spot, including the three from the top spots, and always use all for the fifth spot. Assuming a 10-horse field, the total cost is $162. If eight horses are used in the fifth spot, the ticket is reduced to $108.

“A winning ticket is a sure profit, and often times pays better odds than the off odds of the horse that was singled, while still allowing that horse to only need a top three finish.”

The three tickets would look like this:

1
234
234
23456
ALL

234
1
234
23456
ALL

234
234
1
23456
ALL

(Cal Expo)