Spanish drivers duel with Americans at Northfield

Northfield, Ohio…Monday, September 18, 2023…The Spanish-American Friendship competition highlights the Monday (Sept. 18) harness racing program at Northfield Park as the Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) presents a pair of events on a 15 race program.

The first GLADA competition is in race three in a $10,000 trotting event with the American team of Steve Oldford, Don Sherman, Dein Spriggs and Devan Miller taking on the strong Spanish quartet of Jose Rotger, Jaime Riera Bassa, Vicente Mata and Santiago Roig.

Oldford, who won an event with Muscles For Life at Delaware, Ohio kicking off Little Brown Jug week, is in action again looking for his 200th career win with the 7 to 5 morning line favorite Holton on Monday, leaving from post two while Spriggs, who recently reached the 500 plateau in wins, will handle second choice Say You Do (4 to 1) from post six.

The U.S.A’s Edward Miller leads the contingency in the next Spanish-American friendship event with the even-money morning line favorite Cowboy Country leaving from post one in the fifth race.

The 26-year-old Ohioan has consistently been on the leader board for trainers and has a batting average (UDRS) over .400 the past three seasons, including a lofty .480 batting average this year with a scorecard of 11-8-7 in 37 drives. He’s also looking for a milestone win—number 50—in tonight’s GLADA event.

Spain’s Jaime Riera Bassa, who has five victories on U.S.A. soil, has two drives in this GLADA event with Admiral Allstar in the first event Triumphant’s Chip in the carded fifth race.

Other GLADA members competing for the home team include Henry Beachy, Christina Johnson and Floyd Rhodes.

All members of GLADA donate their driver’s earnings to charity enabling scholarships and donations to worthy charitable organizations including the Harness Racing’s Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York, as well as horse aftercare when their racing career is over and training for second careers as therapy horses for “children of all ages.”

Spokesperson Larry Ferrari expressed it best by saying, “this competition highlights the goodwill that our sport can achieve throughout the world as harness racing is a world wide sport enabling assistance touching many lives.”

The competition concludes on Little Brown Jug day, Thursday, September 21 in Delaware, Ohio.

by John Berry, for GLADA