from the California Amateur Driving Club
Sacramento, CA — The California Amateur Driving Club today announced that “The Bronte Epilepsy Research Foundation Amateur Late Closer Race Series Sponsored by Lou Pena” will be held on three Saturdays beginning Oct. 22. Two separate series, one for boys and one for girls, will culminate in two $10,000 finals to be held on Nov. 5.
Two eight-horse field divisions will be assembled for each gender with a base claiming price of $3,000 for leg one and $4,500 for leg two. All legs will carry a purse of $3,000 and a starter’s bonus of $100 for horses finishing sixth or worse. Each final will carry a $10,000 purse and a starter’s bonus of $200.
CADC President David Siegel had this to say: “Lou Pena has been a great supporter of amateur racing since I got in the business 10 years ago and well before then. He was always the go-to guy to put horses in amateur events, support foreign visitors in special series, and even loan horses out for publicity events in the Sacramento area. Even when he had little to give, he gave. Louie came to me months ago and said he wanted to do something more, even though he was no longer based here. He talked about a special connection he had with a child with epilepsy and wanted to further help finding a cure as well as help his fellow horsemen at Cal-Expo. Add in his support for amateur driving, and the series was born.”
The Cal-Expo race office expects the series with the large purses to be oversubscribed. The 16 nominated in each series with the highest earnings in their last five starts will have their $100 nomination fee accepted. This should result in four very competitive fields.
Lou Pena said, “I really miss California and I hope things can turn around there. While I have had success since leaving two years ago, I am happy to give something back to the place I still call home, where my friends and family are. I still have a strong interest in the health of the industry, have sent some horses back here to compete, and am happy to continue to support the amateur cause and more importantly the horsemen and the Bronte Foundation.
“It’s great that Dave (Siegel) continues to drive these events as they are winners for the track, the horsemen and the bettors.”
For general information about the CADC, please visit www.thecadc.com.