The Robert Farrington Memorial Race for trotters and the finales of the Annette Funicello and Bill Conlin pacing series headline the Saturday night Watch and Wager LLC program at Cal Expo.
A 14-race card is on tap with first post at 5:40 p.m. Racing will be conducted on Saturday nights in October, expanding to Saturday and Sunday programs in November. Plans then call for a three-night-a-week schedule beginning on December 26 with Friday racing added to the mix.
The Farrington Memorial is named for one of harness racing's first superstar trainer/drivers. Robert ‘Bob’ Farrington, 85, passed away on Monday from an apparent heart attack. Farrington trained and drove one of the sport’s most popular horses of all time, the fabled pacer Rambling Willie.
Razzle Be Dazzled figures to be a solid favourite in the Annette Funicello finale for owner John Rogers, trainer Steve Wiseman and driver James Kennedy. The four-year-old daughter of Voracious Hanover is looking for her eighth victory on the year from 18 trips to the post.
Razzle Be Dazzled romped home by six and a half-lengths in a division of the opening leg of this series two weeks ago, then proved a punctual odds-on choice last week while prevailing by a neck over High Bet Hanover while lowering her lifetime standard to 1:54.1 in the process.
The Wiseman/Kennedy team also looms large in the Conlin finale, with Rich Native going postward for owners Mark Benvenga and Kathy Plested. The eight-year-old Allamerican Native gelding was runner-up in a division of the first leg and then posted a $41.80 upset last week while getting the job done from the demanding Post 10 that evening.
There is also an excellent $6,000 Open Trot going as the third event on the card. The returning Franks Best and El Azteca will be squaring off against last week’s Open II victress Silverlode, Sharpshootennorris, I Love New York and Silence Son in that affair.
(With files from Cal Expo)