Jamie Marra will be one of four Billings drivers at Cal-Expo this weekend to take on the Cal-Expo local pilots in the East-West Amateur Driver Challenge.

“I basically grew up around the racetrack,” said Marra, whose grandfather, Jimmy, owned Batavia Downs in New York. “When my grandfather passed away in 1982, my father, John, and my grandmother, Marie, ran the track for a few years until they were bought out.

“Being around the track and the horsemen was a lifestyle, because there were race night and then there were other nights, and I absolutely loved it. Guys like Jack Bailey and Buddy Gilmour were like uncles to me.”

Jamie’s 'day job' is in public service as a career law enforcement official, and he and wife, Paula, have two girls age four and five. Based at Pompano Park, he was recently elected president of the Florida Amateur Driving Club and is secretary of the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association.

Marra is proud that in his first year in the Billings, he won the 2010 Eastern Divisional Championship. “The Billings series has taken me to 19 different racetracks in the United States and Canada, and I’m really excited to come out to Cal-Expo and have the chance to drive over that track.”

While he has won many big races as an owner and has campaigned a two-year-old pacing filly of the year, Marra’s most satisfying victory in the sulky came with a trotter named Banker Ablaze, who has 65 victories on his card.

“It was a tight photo at Pompano Park and what made is so special was the fact it was the first time that my entire family was at the track to see me drive.”

Jamie also pointed out that his red, green and white colours hold a special significance.

“My father was a driver beginning in 1952, and when he passed away in 1995, I went to Joyce’s Racing Silks and took his colours. It means a lot to me to be able to wear them.”

On Saturday nights, the guaranteed gross pool for the Late Pick 4 has been increased to $15,000. Both the Early and Late Pick 4s on Saturdays have a reduced 15 per cent takeout.

(Cal-Expo)

With March Madness in the rear view mirror, the eyes of the world will be on Sacramento, California for the two-day, East versus West, Amateur Driving Challenge. This weekend was specifically chosen so these races would not take away from the attendance at AT&T Park, as the World Champion Giants are out of town. The Giants did send along their thanks for thinking of them when scheduling the event.

Still, the event will have the attention of the eight participants, and the horsemen and wagering fans in California and in the simulcast world.

Team East will be represented by first-timers Laura Macnamara, Simeon Hunsdon, and Jamie Marra, who will be joining teammate Steve Oldford who competed in the East’s only win in five tries in 2008. The Eastern contingent will try to avenge recent defeats and get back on the winning track.

Team West will be a repeat of last year’s squad. Leading the team is 2010 Faut’s Champion Rick Bertrand. Rounding out the squad of amateur reinsmen are Robert Stepien, David Siegel and Chris Hernandez.

Four races will be contested on each of Friday and Saturday nights.

"Amateur racing is what makes harness racing unique among sports," remarked California Harness Horseman’s Association President Alan Kirschenbaum. "It provides the opportunity for everyone to experience the adrenaline rush of competition, the way so many kids experienced it while growing up and playing sports. It is a crucial component of growing the sport's popularity in these challenging days.

"Amateur driving competitions are popular all over the harness racing world, and we believe the California amateurs are as good as anyone, and this will be an exciting chance to prove it. We're so far away from the other harness racing venues that we rarely get to participate in the major competitions like the Billings Series and the one-day all-amateur card at Monticello, so the East-West is a very big deal to us."

“As much as we try to vary the races, nothing shakes things up here the way the East-West Challenge does," said Cal-Expo On-Air Handicapper Gregg Pistochini. "The races provide some of the best wagering opportunities we have here and in the past have been some of our larger pools.”

Cal-Expo’s successful Pick-4s will include some of the challenge races, resulting in what are hoped to be higher than usual payoffs given the twists of the new drivers appearing at the oval.

For information about the California Amateur Driving Club, the Challenge or Amateur Driving in general, please visit thecadc.com.