Rockingham Opens

There were sunny skies, both literally and figuratively, at Rockingham Park on Saturday afternoon as the track raised the curtain on its 101st season with the return of live harness racing.

The end of a prolonged cold, rainy, and dreary spring helped bring 4,237 fans back to the track on the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, which officially kicks off the summer racing season. The fans, who numbered more than on opening day last year, actively participated in the excitement of the sport and the action of wagering on the 10 live races. Moreover, the horsemen expressed pleasure to be back at The Rock racing again, and they were especially pleased with the condition of the racing strip.

"It feels just perfect to be back," said Brewer Adams, who is the owner, trainer, and driver of first race winner Astaire Hall. "The track itself is just super and it's great to race over."

The conditions were certainly kind to Allnightcardgame, who won the featured $10,000 pace for winners of over $10,000 lifetime. Trained by Rockingham newcomer Dawn Anderson and with John Nason in the bike, the 6-year-old son of Cam's Card Shark covered Rockingham's one-mile oval in 1:53.4 as the 4-1 third choice in the field of seven.

"All I had to do was sit until Gary (Mosher) came first up (with 5-2 favorite Matrix's Z Tam) to make my move," Nason said. "Dawn said to do that, and it worked out just as she said."

Also getting off to a great start is Jason Bartlett, who drove three winners from eight starts on the opening day card.

"As always, as a driver I feel very fortunate to have good trainers who give me quality horses to drive, "he said. "It's always great to win races at Rockingham, whether it's one or a whole bunch of them."

Ed Callahan, the track's president and general manager, expressed enthusiasm about the season opener and the 2007 meet.

"We started off with very good racing and there were a lot of happy people in the crowd who were very pleased to see us back in action," Callahan said. "It's nice to start off our 101st season on such a positive note".

Another plus was the number of people who came to the track to play in one of the Texas Hold 'Em poker tournaments, which began after the 2006 meet ended and are held every Wednesday through Sunday.

"Attendance in our poker room was up today, and many of the poker players who had never seen live racing before were interested in it," Callahan noted. (Rockingham Park)

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