by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Split The Bill was snapping a bit of a dry spell when he got the job done last week in a close finish for owner/driver/trainer Keith Willey at Cal-Expo.

The 8-year-old trotter was bred by Willey and Norm Honath and has gone from something of a tough dude to more of a pet these days.

“He was tough to deal with when he was a youngster, no question about it, but he matured,” Willey related. “He has his share of physical problems now, which is why we have to stop on him at times. As far as the racing goes, he’s pretty good on the straight-aways, but I have to drive him defensively when it comes to the turns.”

Sent off the 3-1 third choice in last week’s foray, Split The Bill established a clear lead at the half, showed the way to the stretch by a length and a half, then was hooked by Champolina at mid-stretch, but gamely battled it out to prevail by a head over Katie Scott’s returnee.

“You may have noticed that he bears out in the stretch, and that’s because of his suspensory,” Wiley noted. “I was real happy with his race, and it was nice to get back to the winner’s circle with him.”

By the way, Split The Bill came by his name as the result of a meal.

“It was suggested by Tom Parris during one of our Sunday morning breakfast get-togethers,” Willey explained. “Norm and I thought it was a good one and we were able to get it registered.”

This trotter has never been one to get the headlines, but he’s a blue-collar worker who showed last time he still has the fighting spark while helping to fill the programs week-in and week-out.

Stepien joining West amateur team

Robert Stepien will be one of the four local pilots taking on the invaders in next month’s East-West Amateur Driving Challenge, and he certainly has one of the more interesting resumes among this group.

Married and the father of two boys, ages 17 and 4, Stepien’s “day job” is as a sergeant with the Nevada Highway Patrol in Reno, some two hours plus from Sacramento. He has worked street patrol, Internal Affairs, personnel and currently supervises the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.

“I got into harness racing through my uncle, Frank Scheetz, and I was about 10 when I started working with him,” related Stepien. “He was a trainer in New Jersey and raced at the Meadowlands, Liberty Bell, Brandywine and Dover.

“He had a farm with a natural pond on it. He built a dock and swam many horses. When you’re 12 years old, swimming horses in sub-freezing temperatures is quite a daunting task, but maybe that’s why now I can jog horses through six inches of snow in Reno.

“It started out with small tasks on the farm and slowly graduating to jogging, training, wrapping legs, etc. I swam many of the horses during those times. We had many late nights racing at the Meadowlands, driving long hours pulling the horse trailer and maybe that’s why I can drive from Reno to Sacramento every weekend without a problem.”

Robert’s uncle was quite well known in the Northeast racing community, and this gave his nephew access to paddocks and behind the scenes locations.

“I was fortunate enough to listen to conversations between my uncle and some of the biggest drivers of the time, like John Campbell, Mike Lachance and William O’Donnell.

“In my early teens, I was in charge of the care of many expensive race horses. My uncle never made me feel like something was beyond my capabilities. He taught me the basics and allowed me to fail and learn. I owe a lot to him. I was able to work with horses all week and then watch them perform on the track. I was hooked.”

Fate soon intervened, as Stepien’s father, a Colonel in the Marine Corps, got transferred to Hawaii and Robert graduated high school and lost contact with harness racing for many years. During this time, his uncle died tragically in a car accident while making a late night drive from the Meadowlands.

“He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and the whole event touched me deeply from a personal and professional perspective,” he explained. “I joined the Honolulu Police Department in 1990 and transferred to the Nevada Highway Patrol in 1999. While in Reno, I started thinking of those childhood days and how much fun it was.

“As an adult I was able to realize that harness racing with my uncle had matured me and allowed me to do things the average kid wasn’t able to do. In 2004, we went to the California State Fair at Cal-Expo. I saw that they had harness racing and was just dumbfounded. I thought this was my opportunity to connect with the sport again. I did some internet research and hooked up with Dave Siegel. He told me about the amateur program and got me in contact with trainer Chris Hernandez.

“Chris was so generous and allowed me to start working with his horses. Chris gave me a horse named Theora’s Fella, and he’s the one I used to practice on and used to get my qualifying drives with. He helped me get back into the game, connected me to people on the track and brought out some old skills. I was able to get licensed and here I am. To this day Chris helps me out tremendously and it has developed into a solid friendship. He is one of the most generous guys I’ve ever met.”

Stepien currently has three horses, and they are stabled at his home in Reno. They jog in a hillside path at the end of the road, sharing the area with dirt bikes and atv’s.

“The horses love the outdoors and the elevation,” he explained.

“Sometimes it can be overwhelming to work my job and take care of racehorses and my family, but that two minutes on the track during the race makes it all worth it. It’s in my blood and I don’t think it will ever leave me. I’m thankful that there is racing in Sacramento and even if this were to end today, I’m grateful that I had an opportunity to relive a childhood dream and finally race and train in pari-mutuel events.

“I want to say I couldn’t do this without the patience of my wife Pamela, and also there isn’t a start that goes by that my uncle doesn’t come into my mind. Hopefully he is watching from somewhere, smiling that he produced a decent horseman.”

Siegel’s dance card is pretty full

David Siegel figures to be a busy man on Saturday night (March 6), as he is scheduled to go to the post in 10 of the 15 races on the program.

Siegel, a prominent owner and President of the California Amateur Driving Club, will be handling two of his favorite performers during the course of the evening. His pacer Shock And Awe hails from the Bernie Wolin barn and shows up in the eighth race, while the trotting mare I Look Special is owned by Siegel, Robert Thronson and Greg Robinson while taking her lessons from Gilbert Herrera and goes in the 11th event.

Shock And Awe is a 34-time victor, and Siegel was in the bike when he picked up his most recent tally back on February 12. He will do his work from the No. 8 slot in a very contentious cast that includes some hard-knocking pacers.

“Shock And Awe is the gutsiest horse I have ever owned or driven,” he related. “He always gives 100 percent and never gives up in a race. He can leave in a grinding style, come first up or come from off the pace. While he’s not a quick horse, he maintains his speed as well as any other and has a heart unmatched by any horse I’ve encountered.”

Having said that, Siegel is realistic about this weekend’s assignment in a race that matches conditioned types and optional $12,500 sellers.

“He will have his work cut out for him this week coming from out of the eight hole with a trailer.”

I Look Special has clicked in 36 of her 203 career outings and is on the verge of going over the $200,000 earnings mark. She is still seeking her first snapshot of the year, but appears to find a very appealing spot to correct that oversight.

“She’s one of the more consistent trotters just below the top level. She’s a dream to drive and quite versatile in style. She gets some class relief and I expect her to be right there on the wire. By the way, she is one of the cutest mares around.”

For the record, Siegel has driven in 10 races on two other occasions, and his most victories in an evening stands at three, which he has done twice. In addition to Shock And Awe and I Look Special, he is set to guide My Mighty Nightie in the third, Artilda in the sixth, Try This in the seventh, Final Choice in the ninth, Mil Amores in the 10th, Check Raisin in the 12th, Mask in the 14th and The Future in the finale.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Thursday (March 4) and continues through Saturday (March 6). Post time on Thursday is at 5:25 p.m. (PST). Post time on Friday (March 5) is at 5:30 p.m. Post time on Saturday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.