by Mike Paradise, publicity director, Maywood Park

Melrose Park, IL — Taser Gun, Illinois’ oldest active millionaire pacing star, makes his 10-year-old season’s debut on Friday night at Maywood Park. The revered Robert Walker-trained gelding is the 5-2 morning line favorite in the tenth race conditioned pace.

Regular driver Andy Miller will be back at the lines of Taser Gun when he leaves from post four in a $10,250 event for non-winners of $10,000 in their last five starts or horses without a win for a purse of $10,000 or more twice since January 10, 2005. The latter condition makes Taser Gun eligible for Friday’s race.

This will be Taser Gun’s first start since last September 18 when he captured the $100,000 Dan Patch Final at Balmoral Park. That Super Night championship was the first time the popular pacer ever won a six-figure event and yet his lifetime earnings stand at $1,086,302 for his Medora, Illinois owners Cunningham Racing Inc.

Taser Gun got in a pair of strong qualifiers earlier this month at Springfield in preparing for his first appearance of 2005. On May 14 he drew off by four lengths in 1:57.1 and one week later he sped to a front-stepping 1:54.2 clocking with a very quick :26 last quarter.

Those who were waiting for Taser Gun to slow down last season as a nine-year-old are still waiting. The son of Henry Letsgo had another spectacular year, winning 10 races and finishing second five times in his 16 starts, while racking up $187,922. He took our Egyptian Stake last July, a victory that helped earn him a share of the Maywood Pacing Series with Constant Change, an event Taser Gun won outright three consecutive years — 1998, 1999 and 2000.

After eight seasons of racing, often in Free For Falls and ICF stakes, Taser Gun has a slightly better than 50 percent winning percentage, with 64 victories in 127 starts. And he’s finished third or better at an 82 percent clip.

Taser Gun has a formidable field awaiting him in his season’s bow, including Oubetterbelieveit (3-1, Joe Anderson), who set a Maywood Park track record for a four-year-old pacing gelding two weeks ago with a 1:51.3 mile. The 3-1 second choice has post seven with Joe Anderson, who also trains the son of former Illinois champion Ohyouprettything.

Completing the field is Us And Them (12-1, John Roberts), Bar Ron Boy A (8-1, Dale Hiteman), Dr Hanniball (8-1, Tony Morgan), False Alarm (6-1, Jason Dillander) and Dashing Diplomat (4-1, Tim Tetrick).