Gary Budahn Memorial tops Cal Expo bill

Dylan The Great (Break The Bank K), fresh from back-to-back harness racing victories at the top rung, looks to keep the momentum going in Sunday (March 5) night’s $12,500 Gary Budahn Memorial Trot at Cal Expo Harness.

Watch and Wager LLC has carded 12 races on Sunday with first post set for 4:45 p.m. and there will also be an $8,000 Filly and Mare Open Pace featuring last week’s Sire Stakes victress Divine Art for owner/driver/trainer Gerry Longo.

Dylan The Great is a 7-year-old gelding who is owned by David Dobblemann, takes his lessons from Alexia Kehl and will once again have Brad Irvine giving directions.

After capturing an Open II event in late January, Dylan The Great had to settle for minor awards in his next two appearances before capturing back-to-back Opens coming into this weekend’s assignment.

The Kehl trainee tracked to the drive in his February 17 score with Irvine and rallied for the neck decision, then appeared to love the sloppy going in last week’s top dance and romped home by over six lengths after brushing to the lead down the backside in another big performance.

Track record holder Pridecrest has been his most immediate victim in those last two starts and will be gunning for some revenge in the Budahn.

Racing for Chris Schick, trainer Kathie Plested and pilot Mooney Svendsen, he is just shy of the $500,000 mark in career earnings.

Completing the cast are Rock Party, Body Armor, Vincenti, Adagio De La Tour and Silverhill Volo.

Bob Johnson remembers Gary Budahn

Bob Johnson, who will send out Rock Party in Sunday’s featured Gary Budahn Memorial Trot, has nothing but great memories when it comes to the man for which this race is named.

“Gary was not only an excellent veterinarian and a tireless advocate for harness racing, but I considered him to be a good friend,” Johnson noted.

“He and his wife used to babysit my kids sometimes back in the Hollywood Park days.

“Gary did did so much work on behalf of the horsemen and it’s nice they have this race for him.”

Last Friday saw a unique event tabbed the Double Down Invite in which four pacers squared off against a trio of trotters, with the trotter Daytona Dreamin taking down the top prize.

This got us thinking about the fact that you used to see trotters who would switch over and start racing as pacers, and pacers who would become trotters, but this doesn’t happen anymore.

“I never had one that did that,” Johnson noted, “but it was certainly happening back in the day and they were known as double gaited.

“I think the difference is now, because of the sires, you have horses who are absolutely bred to pace and those who are absolutely bred to trot, which wasn’t always the case before. That’s why you I think you don’t see them switching over.”

For complete Sunday race entries, click here.

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness