by John Manzi, for the Billings Series
Monticello, NY — The C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series has been part of the harness racing scene for nearly 35 years and Saturday (Sept. 10) was the first time this season that the Billings Series offered trots in both the Midwestern and Eastern regions on the same evening.
The Billings trot in the Midwest at Northfield Park was won by Max “Colonel” Schultz while David “Poppa” Glasser was victorious in the East at Tioga Downs.
Schultz, a German amateur driver visiting the USA, scored a wire-to-wire triumph with Detailer in a 1:59.4 clocking and Glasser used similar tactics when he reined Celebrity Stimulus home first in a 1:58 mile.
Last year Schultz came to the USA around the time the Little Brown Jug was contested, and showed his American counterparts that he knows his was around the racetracks, winning two Billings contests then.
In Saturday night’s contest Schultz had Detailer on the lead as they trotted by the first stanza in :30 and they were followed closely by Steve “You’re Never Too” Oldford with Partyatyourplace.
“Tonight, my horse was strong behind the (starting) gate so I sent him to the lead and then slowed him down,” Schultz related via a telephone conversation.
The field trotted by half in 1:00.3 and up the backside “Chicago George” Bonomo took aim at the leaders with Flying Muscles although Schultz and Oldford were still one-two as the field passed the three-quarters. In the lane Oldford angled Partyatyourplace out to challenge and they raced side-by-side to the wire.
“I had a perfect trip behind Max and when I pulled my horse out to challenge in the stretch we got to Detailer’s chinstrap but we couldn’t get by and had to settle for second,” Oldford said.
Bonomo and Flying Muscles finished third.
Both Detailer and Partyatyourplace are owned by Bert Hershberger and trained by J D Wengerd and according to Oldford if it wasn’t for them the race probably never would have filled.
Detailer notched his fourth seasonal victory and returned a $13.40 mutuel.
Meanwhile in Billings action hundreds of miles away at Tioga Downs in New York’s southern tier, David “Poppa” Glasser reined his fifth victory of the season behind his own Celebrity Stimulus.
Glasser and his charge started from the four hole and grabbed command almost instantaneously and they were three lengths in front in a :28.2 first quarter. From there Glasser let his trotter breeze and they were safely in front until the deep stretch when “Hurricane Hannah” Miller and MT Ur Pockets came calling. But Celebrity Stimulus hung on gamely for a neck decision over the country’s leading amateur driver. Third place went to Linda Marie, driven by Bob “Rapid Rail” Krivelin.
Glasser, president of a litigation company, was gracious to his help.
“I am sincerely grateful that the trainers and staff who have cared for Celebrity Stimulus all year have him in such good shape. Without their hard work and skill I would not have won tonight.
“As for the race, I had the racing luck tonight. No passing lane kept that closed and I was able to fight off the first over challenge.”
The Billings trot went as a non-wagering affair after the third race on the betting card at Tioga Downs.