by Frank Salive, publicity director, Isle Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — He was conspicuously absent from the nightly line-up after a serious racing accident last April and Bruce Ranger will be just as conspicuous in his return to nightly duty. Ranger, the all-time top driver in South Florida harness racing history, is scheduled to appear in at least six of the 13 races carded for the opening night program of the 2011-2012 meet on Wednesday (September 21) at The Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park.

USTA photo

Bruce Ranger will be back in the bike on opening night at Pompano.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to work and the timing of an injury that serious wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” says the 51-year-old reinsman, with 8,088 lifetime wins and more than $32 million in purse earnings to his credit. “Since I didn’t have a major stakes horse to go up north with this year I didn’t mind staying in Florida to heal up and to be quite honest I don’t enjoy packing up to move anyway.”

A severely separated right shoulder was at the top of a long list of injuries suffered by Ranger last April 12 when pacing mare Stylish Soiree N fell at the start of a race and threw him to the track. To kick up the pace of his recovery Ranger called on a chiropractor with a connection to one of Pompano’s most legendary horsemen.

“It’s only in the last three weeks that I’ve been able to feel almost all my strength returning to my right arm and shoulder and I credit Dr. Charles Sands for that,” Ranger says. “Some people might remember that he’s the chiropractor that helped the late Stanley Dancer a lot back in the 1960s and 1970s. I wasn’t really satisfied with the follow-up treatment and advice I was getting from other doctors, but since I’ve been going to Dr. Sands the scar tissue is healing much faster and the pace of my recovery has really improved in recent weeks.”

On the opening night program set for September 21, Ranger’s top mount stands to be Keystone Thomas, the 5-2 early choice in the $12,000 purse top trot.

Fine cast assembled on the backstretch

The 48th season of live harness racing in South Florida opens with an accomplished cast of excellent trainers and drivers, according to Director of Racing Operations John Yinger.

“With our backstretch improvements and renovations we have almost all 850 stalls full for the coming season,” Yinger says. “Among the top profile trainers and drivers joining us this year will be Chris Marino from New Jersey, Rick Plano from California, and Ed Hensley, the top driver from Tioga Downs. Plus, Casie Coleman has reserved 30 stalls at a nearby training center and she indicates she’ll be entering a fair amount of horses here in the coming season, too. Last year’s top trainer, Peter Pellegrino, will also be back by October.”

Following the Wednesday evening opener, a Grand Opening night capped off by fireworks is set for Saturday (September 24) when the championship finals of The Sunshine State Stakes will turn to the starting gate.

Monday evening racing returns on October 10. From the third week of November through the end of March with Tuesday programs also added in, live programs will be conducted four nights per week at the Winter Capital of Harness Racing. The racing calendar, condition sheets, and free race night live streaming is available in the ‘racing’ tab at www.theislepompanopark.com.