by John Manzi, for the Delvin Miller Amateur Drivers Association
Monticello, NY — Many of the big guns in the amateur movement from the Midwest Region will be traveling to the famed Red Mile in Lexington to compete in a Billings Series 12-horse trot on Thursday (September 29), with some looking to add points to their seasonal totals while others are traveling just for the sport of driving on the famed red dirt.
Steve “You’re Never Too” Oldford, who’s a shoo-in to win the Midwest Region point crown is obviously going to race for the pleasure of it. But Kelly “Sky” Walker, “Tar Hell Tom” Williams, Mike “the Mortgage Man” Mitchell and “Trader Bud” Hatfield could use more points to reach the top 10 in that region, or in Trader Bud’s and “Mortgage Man Mike’s” case, to maintain their current positions or to add more points for security.
However, Simeon “Hot Rod” Hunsdon” and Peter “the Past President” Gerry are coming in from the Eastern Region. Hunsdon only trails leader Dave “Steady As” Yarock by two points, 91-89, for supremacy atop the East Region leaderboard but that will most likely change because there’s a lot of points going to be distributed. And Gerry, with 77 points — currently fourth best — has an outside chance of rapidly moving up because the points earned by winning a 12-horse race are 17 and that would put him in the thick of things in the East.
Dave “Linemaster” Ehrenberg, “Chicago George” Bonomo and his daughter “Michelle the Belle” Ruvola, along with “Lawbook Larry” Farley and Patricia “the Write Stuff” Miller mostly will be there in Lexington just for the pleasure of racing over the mile oval, although the prospect of earning 17 points for a win, and even 12 points as runner-up, is enticing.
The race, a non-wagering affair, will go to post at 6:30 p.m. prior to the betting card getting underway at 7 p.m.