by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal Expo Harness

Sacramento, CA — Not only did Bob Johnson own, train and breed last week’s Cal Expo Invitational Trot dead-heat winners Franks Best and Inside Broadway, but these two top performers are half-brothers as they are out of the American Winner mare Inside Edition.

They square off again this Friday night.

“Inside Edition was an Open mare with a 1:57.2 mark at 4, but she developed an ankle infection which ended her career,” Johnson related. “She was retired at the Desomer Farm and bred to Armbro Scribe.”

The resulting foal was Franks Best, who was an absolute terror in Sire Stakes competition in his younger days and has continued his winning ways under Johnson’s direction. He suits up Friday evening with $181,000 in his account and a 1:56.2 mark that was set last season over the Running Aces oval.

“Inside Edition was eventually sent back to Pennsylvania, and that’s where she was bred to Broadway Hall two years later,” Johnson said. “Inside Broadway won a few stakes in Pennsylvania and took his mark of 1:55.3.”

Both trotters competed this summer in Indiana and have been putting on a pretty good show for barn bragging rights through the first couple of months of this meeting.

“That last race was a real thrill,” Johnson explained. “To have these two horses dead-heat in an Invitational is a great feeling, especially having bred both of them.”

Reminder to punters

A reminder that are there are three bets offered each night with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate — the 50 cent Pick-5, the 20 cent Pick-4 and the 10 cent Hi-Five on the nightcap.

To give you a better idea what this means in terms of dollars, the three payoffs on the Nov. 15 card were $5,973 for the Pick-5, the Pick-4 clocked in at $1,954 and the Hi-Five returned $1,422.

Using normal takeout rates, the Pick-5 would have dropped to $5,332 for a difference of $641 to each winner; the Pick-4 would have paid $1,744, meaning each ticket would have been worth $210 less; and the Hi-Five would have come in at $1,269, a difference of $153 for each winning combination.

Sire Stakes get marquee treatment

A $10,000 California Sire Stakes for 3-year-old fillies matching Show Runner and Strings headlines the Friday night action at Cal Expo.

Show Runner is a daughter of Little Steven out of the Tyler’s Mark mare Peace Runner who is owned by Denise Maier and Eileen Brodbar with Tim Maier reining and training. She comes into this assignment with 16 wins from her 30 starts on the season, $88,000 in earnings and a 1:52.3 mark that was set this season at Running Aces.

The bay miss has rattled off three straight impressive victories at this meet. She waltzed home by nearly four lengths in the Open on Nov. 15; proved a punctual 1-2 choice in the most recent Sire Stakes clash two weeks ago and then absolutely crushed her rivals at the most recent asking in the Louis GG Perego Memorial under Maier’s direction.

Strings was second to Show Runner in that last stakes clash and once again looms the main rival for owner/breeders Wayne and Rod Knittel, trainer Bob Johnson and pilot Mooney Svendsen. The Hi Ho Silverheel’s offspring picked up her seventh win on the year in a conditioned affair last week and will attempt to turn the tables on the division’s top gun.