To the amazement of absolutely no one, the dynamic driving duo of Bruce Ranger and Wally Hennessey has already left the competition in the dust in the driver standings at Pompano Park.
Ranger, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday in late September, jumped with a 13-win afternoon on the first day of Sunshine State Stakes and has already amassed 46 victories in the first 118 races contested. Ranger is Pompano’s all-time leading driver.
Hennessey, who turned 53 Sunday, has already been inducted into harness racing’s Hall of Fame. Arriving during the second week of Sunshine State Stakes action, Hennessey already has 21 victories in 67 starts.
Ranger and Hennessey combined have won 69 of the 118 races, close to 60 per cent of all the races. Of the eight Sunshine State Stakes finals contested over the weekend, Ranger captured three and Hennessey two.
Tom Sells (with seven wins) and David Ingraham (with six) are the only other drivers with more than five wins.
In the Pompano Trainer Standings, the Lorenzo Stable of owner Rod and trainer Michele have dominated the early going. The Lorenzo Stable has recorded 15 victories in 30 starts, while Tom Audley (8 wins), Veral Bowman (7), Bob Roberts (7) and Kim Sears (7) round out the top five.
Harness racing is currently being contested at Pompano on Friday and Saturday nights with a 7:05 p.m. first-race post time. The racing schedule will expand to three nights a week in October with Wednesday night racing on October 14.
(With files from the FSBOA)