The first two of 10 races at Freehold Raceway on Friday, Sept. 6, showcased four Italian amateur drivers racing against four American amateur drivers as one of the pit stops on the Italians’ tour of America and American harness racing in celebration of the International Trot week.

The drivers hailing from Italy were Michele Bechis, Vittorio Bosia, Enrico Colombino, and Graziano Reggiani. The drivers representing the U.S. were John Calabrese, Paul Minore, Yogi Sheridan, and Matt Zuccarello. They faced off once at a trot and once at a pace; the horses they drove were drawn by lot.

In the trot leg, Paul Minore took control of the race with the only mare in the field, Hold Me Closer, leading the field the entire way to win by 1-1/2 lengths. Vittorio Bosia finished second with Masster Blue, while a late-charging John Calabrese and Winneress caught up with Enrico Colombino and Lionhead to dead-heat for third.

Minore went on to score a driving double on the card when he drove his own Pilsner Frosty to a 7-1 upset victory in the sixth race.

The pace leg was a similar story although this time it was Matt Zuccarello with the wire-to-wire victory behind Maddy N Maggie. Although the winner was clear — winning by over 16 lengths — the rest of the field still battled for second. Bosia secured another second place finish impressively with his 41-1 shot Girl Almighty, while Calabrese (with Red Dawn) and Colombino (and Reachin For Heaven) were close behind for third and fourth, respectively.

"This competition has been ongoing with the USA and Italy for over 35 years with intercontinental exchanges and many U.S. amateurs experiencing the hospitality of our Italian friends," stated NAADA President and event organizer, Joe Faraldo. "While it is quite an undertaking to host foreign drivers, it is one our American horsemen have embraced and it is refreshing to see the support for this event by the Freehold horsemen."

Freehold Raceway would like to thank the horsemen for allowing their horses to participate in this event and for being so welcoming to the guests.

Live harness racing continues tomorrow (Sept. 7) starting at 12:30 p.m. Next week kicks off the first of five weeks of an extra day of racing each week, with races on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through Oct. 10.

(Freehold Raceway; photo features the four Italian drivers and Paul Minore, second from left)