Amateur driving
series in California announced
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - by David
Siegel, for the California Amateur
Driving Club
The recently reconstituted
California Amateur Driving Club (CADC), in concert with the
California State Fair, has announced an eight-race amateur
driving series. These races will represent the first amateur
racing opportunity in California since 2001.
A total of $28,000 in purses will be available for the four
trotting and four pacing races, which will be contested on
three consecutive Wednesdays, beginning August 17, and the
final will be raced on Labor Day. In addition to the
augmented purses available for horsemen, the series will
benefit a Sacramento-area equine rescue organization; the
drivers have pledged to donate, through the CADC, both their
driving and entry fees.
The series winner will be eligible to represent California
in the Tim Fouts Memorial Amateur Race, held each year at
the Grand Circuit meet in Delaware, Ohio.
“Amateur racing is one of the great things that separate
participation in harness racing from Thoroughbred racing,”
CADC president David Siegel said. “Operating within the
challenging economic environment we find ourselves today,
being able to race horses in amateur events is a helpful
selling point when trying to attract new owners to our
sport.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to both (the) TVG Network and
the California State Fair for giving us this showcase
opportunity.”
Traditionally a Thoroughbred meet has been conducted at
Cal-Expo in August, when hundreds of thousands of people
attend the annual State-sponsored Fair. In 2005, a harness
meet will be conducted.
