by Emily Gaskin, for Hoosier Park Racing and Casino

Anderson, IN — Hoosier Park Racing and Casino’s 2016 All-Star Driver Series highlighted the 14-race card on Saturday (July 23) and it was Sam Widger who took home top honors and won his share of the $5,000 round one prize. In its third year, the 2016 All-Star Driver Series pitted the top-ten drivers at Hoosier Park against one another in a five-race challenge with the ten coveted spots being based upon wins during the 2016 season.

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Sam Widger reigns supreme in first round of Hoosier Park’s All-Star Driving Series.

Widger, a 52-year-old, Ill. native, earned two wins, a second, a third, and a ninth place finish during the five-race competition for a total of 49 points to secure the win. John DeLong finished second with 39 points followed by Dan Shetler finishing third with 35 points.

John DeLong found the winner’s circle in the opening race of the challenge behind Skyway Billy for 15 points while Rick Plano and KW Express finished second to earn nine points. Widger was only able to muster a ninth place finish, earning two points.

In the very next race, Dan Shetler and Why Ya Wanna used a gate-to-wire performance to find the winner’s circle in a new lifetime best of 1:53.4. Trace Tetrick and Harley J rallied well to finish second while Legal Image got up for third place honors to give Widger eight points.

Widger eventually found the winner’s circle in the third race of the challenge behind If I Lose for trainer Brett Selby, also scoring gate to wire in 1:51.4. After the third race of the challenge, three different drivers had found the winner’s circle and it appeared to be a wide open affair. Widger lead all drivers with 25 points while Dan Shetler and John DeLong were tied with 24.

After the fourth race of the series and just one race left to go, Mike Peterson garnered 15 points to move into third place with 30 points after a win behind Always A Force while just two points separated DeLong and Widger. Dan Shetler had accumulated 29 points for fourth.

Widger was able to clinch the round one trophy and the lion’s share of the $5,000 prize in the final race by steering Steviescooter to victory in 1:52.3 by 2-1/2 lengths for trainer Steve Brannan. DeLong secured second place in the series after a fourth place finish with Justlikeithought while Dan Shetler moved into third.

“The last race of the challenge really worked out in my favor,” Widger noted in the winner’s circle. “Of course, you can play the races out in your head all you want but you can never be sure how they will go when the gate folds. Things worked out for me and I also had a little racing luck.”

Now in his 30th season in the sulky, Widger has over 5,000 career wins as a driver and is responsible for the winners of over $42 million in purse earnings. Widger has been a mainstay atop the Hoosier Park leading driver ranks for the past several seasons and is currently third in the standings for the 2016 harness racing season. He is anxious to make amends for his second place finish in the 2015 Driver Series at Hoosier Park.

“These challenges are always a lot of fun,” Widger continued. “I was pretty happy with my picks coming in to tonight and felt good about my chances. I would love to win it all this year, I haven’t forgotten about finishing second last year. We have fun with it and I’d like to thank everyone that made this possible.”

Widger will look to defend his title in round two of the All-Star Driver Series slated for Saturday (October 22) at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino. While round two will be conducted in the same manner as the first, the winner of the final challenge will have their choice of a dream prize, a $10,000 cash prize, an exotic vacation, or their favorite “always wanted to have” toy.

With the points carrying over, the top eight finishers from round one will return for round two on Saturday (October 22) and the final two positions will be determined by the official Hoosier Park standings at the conclusion of racing on Saturday (October 15.)

Live racing will return to Hoosier Park Racing and Casino on Tuesday (July 26) with a 14-race card. With a daily post time of 5:45 p.m., live racing will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and be conducted through November 12.

For more information on the upcoming entertainment and live racing schedule, please visit www.hoosierpark.com.