“The situation is obviously pretty shaky right now up in Ontario, so I decided to come down and give it a try. I also have a couple of friends who kept telling me to come and then of course, there’s the weather.”

Among the new faces at Cal-Expo this meet is Dan Gassien, who is invading from Ontario while making his first venture to California. He currently has six horses on the grounds with at least three more set to arrive shortly.

The 48-year-old horseman was literally born into the sport, being around the trotters and pacers from day one thanks to his father Paul, while his brothers are also making their living at the racetrack.

“I always knew this is what I wanted to do, and I left school at 15 to start working full time with my dad and my older brother Reg. I drove my first race at Flamboro Downs when I was 18, and got my first winner with my third drive. It was a horse named Chip Supreme, and you never forget that one.”

Dan has been around some nice horses over the last 30 years, including a pacer named Durham’s Kahula who went some big miles at Woodbine before retiring to the Gassien farm. Number one in his heart, however, would have to be the nine-year-old pacing mare The Shebaran, who is in action here at Cal Expo.

“She’s got 40 wins and earned over $250,000 for us, so she’d have to be the favourite,” he said.

In addition to being his first trip to Cal Expo, this is also Gassien’s first time competing on a regular basis over a mile racetrack, and he was asked if he’s had to make any significant adjustments.

“As far as training goes, except for getting them over the track a few times, I haven’t made any changes. When it comes to driving, though, there are adjustments I’ve had to make as opposed to driving over half-mile and five-eighths tracks, where you have to be more aggressive.”

(Cal Expo)