by John Manzi, for the Delvin Miller Amateur Drivers’ Association

Monticello, NY — The wonderful exploits of the Billings winners this past weekend somehow seemed to be overshadowed by the passing yesterday of Bingham, the grand ‘ole warhorse and perennial Billings competitor.

Condolences have been expressed to Gene Miller on his devastating loss of Bingham, who in his career, won 113 races and purses of $308,167, most of which came from modest purse races.

However, on Saturday, July 28, the Billings traveling road show continued with Midwest Region races at the Fayette County Fair in Washington Court House, Ohio during the afternoon and at the Summit County Fair at Northfield, Ohio’s Northfield Park in the evening.

And when the races were official, three gentleman drivers, Bob “I Wanna Sell You A Car” Chapman, Mike “the Vet” Caston and “Buckboard Bob” Miller, each scored their first Billings victories of the season.

Chappy was the first to make the winner’s circle when he guided his own Kipling Avenue to an easy three length triumph in the Billings split at Washington Court House.

Sent off as the favorite in the contest, Chapman bided his time until the half-way point and then put his trotter on the limb first-over and Kipling Avenue did the rest. He circled the field at the three-quarters and then cruised to an easy 2:06.2 triumph over Sweet Edith, driven by Renee “the Big Bad” Wulf. “Trader Bud” Hatfield garnered the show dough with Sequel Ranger.

Kipling Avenue’s win was the 39th of her career and it was win number 37 for Chapman.

Later that evening at the Summit Fair at Northfield Park, Mike “The Vet” Caston won one Billings contest and “Buckboard Bob” Miller the other.

For Caston it appeared to be a relatively easy triumph despite the fact that the betting crowd didn’t get on his bandwagon and sent “the Vet’s” trotter No Mon No Fun off at odds of over 13-1.

Undaunted by the bettors, Caston went right on down the road from his rail position and he made every pole a winning one. At the finish, which was clocked in 2:01.3, No Mon No Fun was 1-1/4 lengths ahead of Crafty Sailor and driver “Congenial Gene” Miller. By the way, Crafty Sailor was seeking his 104th career victory, which will undoubtedly come before season’s end. Third place in that event went to Spit Happens, driven by “Chicago George” Bonomo.

It was the second seasonal triumph for No Mon No Fun and 32nd of the 11-year-old’s career. For Caston, a Clarkston, Michigan resident, it was his 27th driving victory.

In the other Northfield Park division, “Buckboard Bob” Miller got his fastest ride ever over a double oval when his altered son of Sand Chaser, Easy Chaser, zipped to a wire-to-wire, 1:59 victory over Bengali and Scott “the Driving Doctor” Woogen. “Trader Bud” Hatfield racked up another third place finish, this time with Like Nothing Else.

Overlooked in the wagering, Easy Chaser was sent off at odds of over 8-1. The victory was the 4-year-old trotter’s second of the year. For “Buckboard Bob” it was his third driving victory of the season and 19th of his amateur career.