by Mark Ratzky, publicity department, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — Thursday (July 12) and Friday (July 13) will see the second leg of the Cal-Expo vs. Northfield Pro-Am Driver Challenge, with the opening salvo having taken place at Northfield Park last month.

Representing the local Cal-Expo contingent are Rick Kuebler, Rocky Stidham, Dave Siegel and Alan Kirschenbaum, while Aaron Merriman, John D. Wengerd, Gregg Keidel and Bob Troyer will make up the Northfield team.

Merriman is a 29-year-old Ohio native who is a second-generation harness horseman.

“I wasn’t sure it was what I wanted to do when I was younger, but it kind of grew on me and by the time I was 18, I’d made up my mind,” he related.

Aaron is one of the top pilots competing over the half-mile Northfield Park oval and is approaching the 2,500 win plateau. When asked about the best horse he’s ever driven, he was quick to name Midnight Jewel, a pacing mare with a 1:49 mile to her credit.

“This will be the first time I’ve come to Cal-Expo and I’m really looking forward to it,” Merriman said. “I don’t get much chance to drive over mile tracks, and at least you know you can make a mistake and still recover, which isn’t usually the case over a half-mile course.”

He also pointed out that driving in competitions like this one, which pits a pair of pros and two amateurs from this track against a like number of performers from his home track, is quite interesting.

“Competition of any kind on the racetrack is what makes it fun,” he added.