by Keith Gisser, director of publicity, Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — Northfield Park and Cal-Expo are proud to announce the inaugural Northfield vs. Cal-Expo Pro-Am Driver’s Challenge, a first-of-its-kind team competition featuring top professional and amateur drivers in the same races at both venues.

Northfield will host the first leg of the series on Friday, June 15, and Saturday, June 16, when a team of two California professionals joins with two west coast amateurs against a squad of two pros and two amateurs from Ohio in two races on each night.

The second leg will be contested four weeks later on Thursday, July 12, and Friday, July 13, at Cal-Expo. A scoring system has been devised to determine the overall winning team over the four nights of racing.

Cal-Expo will be represented by professionals Rick Kuebler, a winner of over 4,000 races, and Rocky Stidham, a native Ohioan who relocated to the “left coast” several years ago. They’ll be joined by prominent California amateur drivers Alan Kirschenbaum, a television executive producer, and David Siegel, the president of TrackMaster.

Team Northfield will be comprised of Brett Miller and Aaron Merriman, arguably the top two current Buckeye State professional reinsmen, and amateurs Gregg Keidel and Bob Troyer, who have both fared well in recent years in the national Billings series.

“We’re pleased that Rick, Rocky, Alan and David have accepted the challenge and will be coming to Northfield for the first four races June 15th and 16th,” said Keidel, who is the Director of Racing in Cleveland. “Rick obviously knows his way to the winner’s circle and Rocky was a mainstay on the central Ohio racing scene before moving to California. I’ve raced against, and occasionally been beaten by both Alan and David, so I know they’re competent teamsters as well. Cal-Expo has assembled an outstanding team and we can’t take them lightly. I think this series not only showcases a pair of outstanding professionals from each state, but could also add credence to the growing amateur driving movement in harness racing.”

Siegel, the president of the California Amateur Driving Club, said “We look forward to racing against nationally recognized drivers like Brett and Aaron, as well as top Billings competitors like Gregg and Bob. With year-round racing at both venues, I think it’s great to vary the programs with innovative concepts like this one.”

Sacramento Harness Association General Manager Dick Feinberg echoed those sentiments, saying “I am pleased that my predecessor (Chris Schick) embraced this new concept and accepted the Challenge. We are hoping that these races will provide for great viewing and strong wagering opportunities for our patrons, as well as introduce Cal-Expo racing to some new fans out East.”