by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — This weekend at Cal Expo kicks off the Peter Lobell series, named for the outstanding pacer who is one of the greatest sires to ever stand in California.

“We bought Peter Lobell as a syndicate in 1976,” recalled longtime California owner and breeder Neil Kelly. “There were several of us, including Gene Vallandingham and Bobby Gordon.

“He raced once for us at Sacramento and I believe he set a new mark that night, and then we retired him to my farm here in Hollister. He was here until he passed away in the early 90s, and you couldn’t have asked for a better natured horse. He was something special.”

Peter Lobell dominated the sire ranks during his 14 years at Kelly’s farm, producing several of the major California stakes stars during that period, many of which carried Kelly’s Monterey Farm banner.

Kelly first got into harness racing in 1964 back in Chicago, and actually came up with the Monterey Farm moniker at that time.

“We always knew we were going to come to California, and Monterey was a beautiful place. It seemed like the perfect name.”

Kelly hooked up with Vallandingham in 1968, and they combined over the years to win enough races to fill a good-sized home with winner’s circle pictures piled one on top of another.

“One of those years in Illinois, we won 119 races, which was a record,” Kelly recalled. “We also won a lot of races and had quite a few great memories in California, and Peter Lobell was a big part of it.”

Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (Jan. 6) and continues through Saturday (Jan. 8). Post time on Thursday is 5:30 p.m. (PST). Post time on Friday and Saturday is at 6 p.m.