by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal Expo Harness

Sacramento, CA — There are two wagers offered at Cal Expo each night that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate, affording players the chance to get some real value.

They are the 50-cent Pick-5, which is decided on the first five races of the evening; and the 20-cent Pick-4, which covers the penultimate four contests on the program.

To give you some idea of the value, last Saturday night’s Pick-5 saw four winners between even-money and 6-5, with the upset of the sequence coming in the opener when Twomickeytrip got the job done at $18.

For each 50-cent ticket, there was a return of a healthy $462, enriched by the fact that there was a reduced takeout rate.

Last Saturday night’s program concluded with winners that went off at 3-5, 2-1, 5-2 and 18-1 and the winning Pick-4 tickets were worth a cool $244 each for a 20-cent investment.

Shark Festival, Party Hangover Two headline

A $6,000 Filly and Mare Open Pace heads the marquee Saturday night (Jan. 28) at Cal Expo with stablemates Shark Festival and Party Hangover Two among the major players.

There will be 13 races under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 6:10 p.m. The main event will go as the third race on the evening.

Both Shark Festival and Party Hangover Two hail from the Kathleen Plested shedrow with Shark Festival leaving from the No. 5 slot with Mooney Svendsen, while Party Hangover Two has the outside post in the field of six with Steve Wiseman at the controls.

Shark Festival is a 6-year-old daughter of Shadow Play out of the Cam’s Card Shark mare Shark Fest who is owned by Medinah Racing and Scott Ehrlich. She established her 1:53.3 mark over this track last year and is coming off a victory at this level two weeks ago.

Leaving from the demanding No. 9 post that evening with Wiseman in the sulky, she left for a spot early and then started her move with cover on the backside. When the question was asked, the mare responded and prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Window Wiper in that affair.

Party Hangover Two hits hard with these and looms large with her top effort, while the Gene Vallandingham-trained Game Of Dreamers is coming off an Open II score last weekend and has to be given plenty of respect with Tony Succorote at the controls.

Completing the field are Poorlittlerichgirl, who has the cozy rail slot with William Hernandez giving directions; Stable Eyes for Tim Clevenger; and the Gerry Longo-conditioned Magnifique.