Expanded role for Plano as Cal Expo opens

The 46-night Winter/Spring harness racing meet at Cal Expo gets underway Friday night with A $7,000 contest for the Open filly and mare pacers headed by Rockin With Lou (Sweet Lou).

An 11-race card is on tap under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 6:45 p.m.

This week will see a Friday program only, while next week will see the start of racing on a Friday/Sunday basis through April 20. The exceptions will be a Monday December 26 program and a Saturday February 11 card.

The schedule finds 20 California Sire Stakes contests, including a pair of $50,000 events for the 4-year-old trotters and pacers in April, and a total of eight late-closers headed by the Alan Horowitz Pace next month.

There will also be such top events as the Alan Kirschenbaum, Kirk Breed, Lloyd Arnold and Don Fowler for the pacers and the Gary Budahn and Stan Bergstein for the trotters.

Looking at Friday’s main event, Rockin With Lou has been assigned the outside post in the field of five for owner/driver/trainer Gerry Longo. The mare has gone several big miles over this layout in past seasons.

Taking her on from the rail out are the Luke Plano-reined and trained Brooklyn Moonshine; the Bob Johnson-conditioned Sweet Young Thing; Delightfully Wild from the Lino Pacheco shedrow and the Chip Lackey trained-and-driven Nebble Hanover.

Luke Plano returns with eyes on the prize

Winning driving titles at Cal Expo is nothing new for Luke Plano, who is one of the favorites to find himself atop the standings when all is said and done in the spring.

This year, however, Luke has put a bit more emphasis on the training end, as he will have 20 trotters and pacers ready for action at the Sacramento oval.

“It’s the most I’ve ever had at one time, and I’m looking forward to racing them,” Plano related as opening-night entries were being taken. “That said, I still love driving and want to be out there for every race, so hopefully I’ll get a lot of catch drives when I don’t have one in the race.”

Among Plano’s trainees are the top pacer Bombay Hanover and a 3-year-old trotter named Walla For You who will be making her California debut.

“Bombay Hanover was racing at the top level here last meet and has been going against the best in Minnesota this summer,” Luke said. “Walla For You has been racing in Indiana and I think she’s going to fit well out here.”

While he doesn’t have any Sire Stakes performers in the barn, he could make his presence felt as a pilot when those events roll around. “I drove a couple of real nice ones in Minnesota this summer that are eligible for those races and they should be tough.”

Ron Knittel Memorial Friday

A Major Omen N (Art Major) and Dancin Lance (Always A Virgin), who have both recorded many strong miles at Cal Expo, head the cast for Friday night’s $12,500 Rod Knittel Memorial Free-for-all Pace.

The Knittel Memorial will go as the sixth event on the 11-race card that is set to get underway at 6:45 p.m.

A Major Omen N is a 6-year-old owned, trained and driven by Gerry Longo. He comes into this assignment with 30 wins from his 107 starts, $335,000 in his bank account and a lifetime mark of 1:49 2/5 that was set at the Meadowlands two years ago.

Dancin Lance returns from a Hoosier Park invasion for owner Juan Pacheco and trainer Leon Smith and will have Luke Plano at the controls. He drew just inside his main rival in the No. 2 post for Friday night’s clash.

Completing the field are Mystic Dragon, Daryl Thiessen; Albergo Hanover for Chip Lackey; California Rock with Emilio Cisneros and Roll To The Beach, to be guided by Mel Mullet.

For complete Friday race entries, click here.

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo