by Keith Gisser, director of publicity, Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — Northfield Park hosts the first leg of the Cal-Expo-Northfield Pro-Am Drivers Challenge Friday and Saturday, and at first glance, it appears the home team has a slight advantage.

The unique series, which pits two professional and two amateur drivers from each track against each other in two races each night, has the amateur drivers assigned the inside post positions, with each of the four — Cal Expo’s Alan Kirschenbaum and David Siegel, and Northfield’s Gregg Keidel and Bob Troyer — guaranteed each of the inside post positions. The pros — Brett Miller and Aaron Merriman for Northfield and Rick Kuebler and Rocky Stidham for the Californians — each get one of the four outside post positions during the four-race, first leg of the contest.

In Friday’s (June 15) seventh race trot, the first of the competition, Aaron Merriman drew 5-2 favorite Mom’s Prize, a horse he regularly drives, and Brett Miller is the 7-2 second choice with The Ladys A Looker, despite having post eight. Gregg Keidel, driving Country Dion from post four is the 9-2 third choice, while Rick Kuebler carries the visitor’s hopes with 6-1 morning line fourth choice Call Me Your Baby.

In the eighth race, Miller is 5-2 with Sweetie Peetie, while Merriman is 9-2 with Sheza Hoosier. Stidham has drawn 7-2 second choice Lady Truthful, who leaves from post six. The only amateur below 10-1 on the morning line is Kirschenbaum, the acclaimed writer and producer of TV sitcoms including Coach and Yes Dear. He has 19 career driving wins. Brett Miller has 4,350 career victories, while Keubler has won 4,250 races.

On Saturday (June 16), races seven and eight again feature the interstate competition. In the seventh race pace, California amateur David Siegel is the 5-2 morning line choice with Tato Tato, while Merriman and Miller have the second and third choices, in #7 Cadillacconnection (7-2, Miller) and #5 Sky Strikes (9-2, Merriman).

The Ohio leg of the contest wraps up with a group of trotters and Brett Miller has the 5-2 favorite in Hi Noon Lady. Keubler is 7-2 with Crimson Hanover, and Gregg Keidel is 9-2 from post two with Ratehike.

The races will be simulcast to California, through Cal-Expo, and free past performances will be available by logging on to www.trackmaster.com/cgi-bin/axprodlist.cgi/nfl?tfp.