Berkshire, who has won five of his seven starts since shifting his base from the East; and Jam And Jelly, who upset him in last week’s top dance, head the cast at Cal-Expo for Thursday night’s (October 21) $5,200 Open Trot.
 
Berkshire is a 4-year-old son of Revenue S who has really found a home here at Cal-Expo for owner Ron Lingle and trainer Earl Kennedy.  Steve Wiseman has been his regular pilot and they have combined for five wins, a second and a third in the seven appearances at this session.  Three of those tallies have come at this Open level, including back-to-back decisions on September 30 and October 7 where Berkshire used his patented late kick to overpower the leaders in the drive.  Last week, he put in another good finish, but had to settle for the exacta completion while a length behind Jam And Jelly.
 
The latter is a 6-year-old New and Noble mare who hails from the George Reider barn and is co-owned by the trainer and Rick and Marlene Thomas.  Luke Plano has a return assignment and last week saw them doing the track-and-attack to perfection.  She is now at the $126,000 earnings plateau and last week’s 1:56.1 final clocking shaved two fifths of a second off her career standard.
 
Easter Call is attempting to make amends after tiring to fourth in last week’s Open as the even-money choice.  The 9-year-old was claimed from his previous mile by Rick Plano for $10,000 and was strongly backed with this group, carved out all the fractions but was no match when push came to shove.  He is looking to add to his $184,000 bank account and has a 1:55.4 lifetime best that was established over this layout last season.
 
Completing the field are Meringue, who hails from the Kennedy Lindsey barn and will have Scott Cisco at the controls; and Rompaway Brandon, who does his work from the cozy one-hole for driver/trainer Tim Maier.  An 11-race program is on tap, with the headliner set as the second event on the evening.
 
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This weekend will see the second round of Sire Stakes action for the 2-year-olds, with the filly trotters and pacers squaring off on Friday (October 22), while Saturday (October 23) will find the male trotters and pacers going at it with the big money on the line.
 
The first added-money gatherings were two weeks ago, with Shamderock and Im So Lucky prevailing in the colt stakes, while Racetrack Diva and Claimjumper had photo sessions following the contests for the distaffers.  It will be interesting to see if clear-cut leaders emerge after this week’s second round.
 
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Jodie Svendsen Breast Cancer Awareness Pace; Sire Stakes and Desmond Series on tap
 
The Jodie Svendsen Breast Cancer Awareness Pace, headed by the razor-sharp Split Ticket; a pair of $15,000 Sire Stakes for the 2-year-olds and two divisions of the first leg of the Desmond Series are on tap here at Cal-Expo Saturday night.
 
Split Ticket will be gunning for his fifth straight victory in the Open Pace.  The 6-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight closed out his Indiana Downs campaign with a pair of overpowering victories in September, including a 1:50 lifetime-best tour, then returned to California and has rattled off two solid victories this month at the top rung.
 
Luke Plano handles Split Ticket, who races for the partnership of Richard Morita, David Yamada and David Ohara and takes his lessons from Liberio Pacheco.  He came from last to get the job done here on October 2 at 40 cents on the dollar, then was 1-5 for his recent appearance two weeks ago and put his versatility on display with a gate-to-wire performance that saw prevailing by three and a half-lengths.
 
Bob Johnson sends out a pair of major players in Keystone Eli and Ultimate Desire, while Rick Plano will also take two shots at the favorite with the entry of Cowboy Hanover and Living It Up. The Nathalie Tremblay-conditioned Cycle Power will complete the field.
 
The two Sire Stakes will go as non-betting events prior to the regular program, with Shamderock looking for a second trophy in the pacing division, while Im So Sulky attempts the trophy encore with the trotters.
 
Shamderock is a homebred son of Hi Ho Silverheels who carries the banner of D&E Racing and is reined and trained by Rick Plano.  He comes into this assignment with a win and a second from his three trips to the post.
 
After a needed late September debut, Shamderock took down the first big-money event of the year for his division as he overcame a mid-backstretch incident and went on to a three-quarters of a length victory that evening with Rick at the controls.  Luke Plano did the honors in a conditioned event last week as the youngster put in a :27.3 final quarter to fall a neck short of catching the promising 3-year-old No Storm Damage.
 
Spoons was third in that first stakes clash two weeks ago after suffering a troubled trip and came back with a sharp victory last week to earn his graduation papers.  Desomer Stables and Chris Bardis own and bred this Power Of Art offspring with Vickie Desomer the conditioner and Lemoyne Svendsen handling the lines.  Rounding out the cast are Millions, The Power Load and Achy Breaky Art.
 
The first trotting stakes for the youngsters found I’m So Sulky posting a two-length decision in coast-to-coast fashion for owner/trainer Alan Anderson and pilot Steve Wiseman.  He will be challenged by Final Chapter with Rich Wojcio; Lodi Nickolus for Pierre Girard; and Tangled Web with Steve Desomer.
 
The first leg of the Desmond will go as races 11 and 14 on the program.  The series is designed for pacers who are offered for $2,500 base claiming prices this week, then carry $3,500 base tags next week with no claiming in the November 6 finale.
 
The first division looks very contentious, with Mac’s Derrick T exiting the Gee Gee Digger series where he was a game winner of the first two legs before being hard used and tiring in the final, which was captured by his stablemate Mad River Hanover.
 
He figures to get plenty of competition from Shoot The Works, who has been meeting tougher company in his last pair; Blissfull Winds, who is eyeing his third straight score; and Awesome Deal, who is very sharp at the moment.
 
The other division brings out Accent Seelster, who was a sharp victor two back and was up in class for his most recent runner-up finish.  Yougotwhatuwant looped rivals to pick up his overdue first snapshot of the season last time, while Exit Hanover is a hard-knocking veteran who would appear to be a good fit with these.  Both of these races should prove very interesting as they vie for slots in the final.
 
Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Thursday (October 21) and continues through Saturday (October 23).  Post-time on Thursday is at 6:25 p.m. (PT).  Post-time on Friday (October 22) is at 5:40 p.m.  Approximate 1st-Race Post-time on Saturday is 5:45 p.m.  On Thursday and every live card, Cal-Expo offers free admission, as well as free preferred & general parking after 4:30 p.m.  Also on Thursday night from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Cal-Expo offers a complete Lasagna dinner, which includes salad and bread, for just $3.00.  Additionally on Thursday, beer & wine can be purchased for $3.00 each as well. 
 
Now on Saturdays, Cal-Expo will offer a reduced 15 percent takeout rate on both the Early & Late Pick-4 wagers with BOTH Pick-4’s now having a $10,000 gross guaranteed pool.