by Mark Ratzky, publicity department, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — Claudius Augustus, who suits up for Wednesday’s (May 9) third race, is one of the most exciting prospects to race at Cal-Expo in quite some time. The Gusty Stable trotter has captured his two starts in absolute romps and is gearing up for bigger and better things at Woodbine and maybe even The Meadowlands for the storied Hambletonian.

Claudius Augustus was the worst kept secret of the year when he made his debut on April 19, due in no small part to his 35 length romp in a qualifier. He dispatched that field with impunity at 1-9, then came back last week and once again cakewalked at 30 cents on the dollar, with Rick Kuebler in the sulky.

“He’s a nice horse,” trainer Bob Johnson related in typical understated fashion. “He had a little temperature, which is why he missed a couple of weeks, and we just didn’t want to take any chances with him.

“He did what he was supposed to in that first start, and then I thought his last race he came a wicked last three-quarters, especially when you consider that the track was pretty sandy that night.”

Johnson knows a thing or two about training a top trotter, as Hambletonian hero Joie De Vie was among his protégés at one time.

“This is a Canadian-bred, so the plan is to race him here one more time and then send him up to Woodbine for some Ontario Sire Stakes races. I’d like to see him go something around 1:58 this next time to have him nice and ready.”

Of course, the big dream with this son of Angus Hall is a trip to New Jersey and a shot at the top prize for a 3-year-old trotter, the prestigious Hambletonian. Only time will tell if this colt is made of the right stuff, but when it comes to potential, he appears to have a ton of it in his corner.

Jump right into Bal-Cal pool

Wednesday night means another edition of the popular Bal-Cal Pick 4 Challenge, which combines two races (races 10 and 11) from Balmoral Park in Chicago, with a pair (races 10 and 11) from Cal-Expo. The $1 wager comes attached with a $25,000 guaranteed pool.

The Bal-Cal gives players a chance to make a nice score on a limited budget, and last fall saw jackpots of $20,000, $19,000 and $18,000 for correctly forecasting the four Illinois and California winners.

So sharpen those pencils and jump right into the pool, the water is fine and you just might score a touchdown for a buck.

Post time for the first leg of the Bal-Cal Challenge will be at approximately 8:27 p.m. (PDT).

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo tonight (Wednesday), continuing through Saturday. Post time on Wednesday and Thursday is at 5:35 p.m. (PDT). Post time on Fridays and Saturdays is now at 6:15 p.m. (PDT). On Wednesdays, admission is free, plus Cal-Expo offers a complete Lasagna dinner, with salad and bread, for just $2.00.

Cal-Expo offers guaranteed $10,000 pools on all Pick-4’s!