by John Manzi, for the NAADA

Monticello, NY — Some say that there are no sure winners in racing but when the North American Amateur Drivers Association presents their $12,000 Fall Trotting Series Final at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday (Nov. 4) a winner in that event has already been declared.

Strange you say — well not if you take into account that the winner in that contest is already the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation which will be the recipient of a $5,000 donation from the members of NAADA sometime after the trotting contest is completed.

NAADA President Joe Faraldo spearheaded the project to donate $5,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

“Harness racing was the vehicle that was used to generate the money for this very worthwhile cause,” said NAADA President Joe Faraldo who has, for the past few years, spearheaded the project with the help of Bob Galterio, Yonkers GM and Joe D’Amato, CEO of Monticello. “Without their help it would have been impossible to raise this kind of money. Allowing us the privilege to race at their tracks along with the cooperation provided by the local horsemen’s associations made the effort truly a joint one.”

“This will mark the second time that we will make a contribution of $5,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and we take great pride in doing so,” Faraldo added. “And the money generated from the gracious hosting of these events allowed us to turn over all the starting fees the NAADA members paid to race in all of the legs, as well as the donation of the drivers’ five percent. Our participants felt that the proper placement of this money was to a charity that needs help.”

In all there were three preliminary legs at Monticello Raceway and two prelims at Yonkers Raceway prior to the series finale. The drivers who accumulated the most points during the preliminaries earned a berth in the $12,000 Final and the JDF will receive a gift from New York harness racing’s talented amateurs.

Alan Schwartz, on the strength of two wins in the series, accumulated the most points (38) followed by Faraldo’s 25 and Harvey Stein’s 24. Laura MacNamara, the lone lady in the series, finished with 20 points and she received a berth in the series finale, too. Others who also earned the right to compete include Gerry Fielding, Dave Yarock, Bob Krivelin and Tony Verruso.

Since the NAADA Series Final is a non-wagering affair one can only assume that Schwartz’s trotter Iroquouindianmagic, who had two wins and a second in the series, will be the one to beat when he starts from post position three. Faraldo’s Night’s Jazz, also a winner during the series competition, will leave from the pole position and figures to be the main competition.

Post time for the NAADA Trotting Series Final will be at 6 p.m., prior to the betting card getting underway on Thursday evening.