by John Berry, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — The Spanish-American Friendship Series continues Saturday night (June 6) at Pompano Park with a trio of races featuring many of the best amateur drivers in South Florida stretching across the Atlantic Ocean to include some of the top amateur pilots from Spain.

The three race extravaganza includes two trotting events along with a pacing event — something that may seem a bit unique to the Spanish contingent since they only have trotters in Spain.

Representing Spain are Jaume Bassa-Riera, Agustin Mascaro’-Pou, Miquel Vich-Capo and Bernardo Jaume-Cirer while the contingent from the U.S.A. includes Leon Cable, Luanna Beeson, Billy Muggleston, Dein Spriggs, Les Bloom, Joe Pennacchio, Jamie Marra, Ted Bowman and Steve Oldford.

Riera came over to the States with solid credentials including 124 lifetime wins and a Spanish Breeders Crown championship. He took top honors just last Tuesday night in the Yonkers Raceway edition of the Spanish-American Friendship Series with Amalfi Coast, defeating fellow countrymen Cirer and Capo, among others, in the process.

Cirer, with 25 lifetime wins before crossing the seas to America, added a win to his resume by scoring with Caviart Jett at Monticello Raceway the very next day over “stablemates” Riera, Pou and Capo.

Pou, who has 28 career victories, is a past winner of Spanish amateurs championship and serves as General Secretary of the European Amateur Drivers Federation.

Capo, with 164 wins career-wise, has won three Spanish Amateur Championships and was also the 2012 European Amateur champion.

The American team of amateur drivers is comprised of members of Florida’s Amateur Driving Club, an organization that has donated more than $140,000 to worthy charitable organizations over the years due to their generosity of giving their driving fees to charity.

Cable, no stranger to the sulky, comes into the action with 417 lifetime wins and has been 1-2-3 in more than 50 percent of his 2,367 lifetime starts while Spriggs is just two wins away from 400 and batting .464 this season on the strength of a 14-5-4 scorecard in 39 starts. Muggleston, the former helicopter pilot of the great Herve Filion, has 89 lifetime wins and Oldford has recently climbed over the 100 win mark lifetime and sports a .325 average this semester.

Pennacchio, who won his very first race at the famed Delaware, Ohio, Little Brown Jug half-mile oval, now sports 147 lifetime victories while Ted Bowman is enjoying another solid season in the bike batting .303 with his lifetime victory total now at 70.

Jamie Marra, fresh off a 17-1 victory with his own Lukie Duke a week ago, now has 43 lifetime wins. Les Bloom, a recent addition to the F.A.D.C., has 45 lifetime victories while Luanna Beeson, representing the ladies, recently achieved her first two lifetime victories.

Standardbred owner Peppy Greco has made beautiful ribbon mementos for the winning combatants during the competition while the winning team will own the rights to the magnificent trophy to be presented after the competition.

Another highlight of the event will be a race call by Pompano Park television reporter Gigi Diaz, expected to call the action in the third race.

Post time for the Saturday night card is 7:30 p.m. and also features a growing Super Hi-5 carryover of $4,134.22.