Batavia, NY — Members of the North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) and American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) made a foray to upstate New York last weekend to compete in several amateur driving races as well as to make a donation to the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester.
NAADA President Joe Faraldo was joined by members of both clubs to present a $2,500 check to the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, a 501(c)(3) independently operated organization that focuses on serving breast and gynecologic cancer survivors in western and central New York through providing research grants, education, advocacy and support.
“We’re lucky to race these animals at the level we do, so it’s also a privilege that we get to help people who are struggling at the same time,” Faraldo said. “This is an excellent organization that the clubs have been proud to support over the years and we hope others can recognize the great work organizations like this and the others we support do for their communities.”
The evening’s club races were organized by NAADA and featured two amateur driving races and two races as part of the Women’s Driver Challenge. Robert Ciavardini romped with 3-5 favorite and Cassandra Johnson trainee Woodmere Rollnpop in the first amateur driving division, scoring by 3-3/4 lengths in a 1:59 mile over Solar Solution (driven by Faraldo) and closing Kootenay Leia (Anthony Verruso). Joe Lee snagged the other division with a successful final gambit to land 2-5 chalk and Chris Petrelli pupil Checkonwilliam GB on the line first by a nose over second-over rallying Santana Beach (Charles Longo) with first-up challenger Dry Ridge Ace (Matt Zuccarello) third in a 2:01.2 mile.
Midwest phenom Lauren Harmon bagged the first division of the Women’s Driver Challenge after converting a pocket trip to a two-length win behind 3-5 favorite and Alex Giuliani trainee Skyway Ballistic in a 1:57 mile. She zipped past dueling leaders Long Shot Buckets (Marianna Monaco) and Mach Le More A (Victoria Stratton) for the win while chased home by runner-up Memphistennessee N (Veronica Merton) and Top Tier (Leslie Joyce). Nicky Ratledge went pillar to post in the other division behind Cassandra Johnson trainee Mason Street to win at 6-1 odds by a half-length in 1:57.2 over 98-1 shot Stabler (Monaco), who ripped home to take second from first-up pusher Sweet Ideal (Julia Eaton) in third.
The NAADA is an amateur driving club, meaning the drivers in competition do not race for purse money. Instead, the drivers’ share of earnings from each race is retained and distributed to various charitable causes including cancer research, racehorse aftercare and other aid for the communities in the Northeast.