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Apri1 1, 2001 TO: The Lady & Gentleman Members, Prospective Members and Friends
of LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, The 20th consecutive edition of the CKG Billings Amateur Driving Championship Series is now upon us. The winter has come and gone, the slush season is drying up and the dust that has accumulated on our boots and whips needs to be removed. The Greatest Traveling Sideshow in Harness Racing is about to begin its 2001 tour. On Saturday, May 5th, the 2001 Billings Series will be launched at Pompano Park where the first leg of the two regional competitions will be contested. Yes, as we promised at the end of last year, the 2001 Billings Series will be contested as two regional competitions - the Eastern Regional Competition and the Mid-West Regional Competition. Each regional competition will include 5 "wild card" host tracks as indicated on the enclosed Schedule as well as the host tracks geographically located in that region. Drivers may participate in either or both regional competitions as they may so choose. There is no extra fee required for competing in both regional competitions. At the end of each regional competition, there will be a Final for the 10 highest point earners in that regional competition. The points recorded for determining the 10 highest point winners will be based on a driver's "dynamite dozen" (best 12 finishes) points earned in that regional competition. And, on November 10th, the grand finale - the Delvin Miller Memorial Driving Championship Gold Cup - will be contested at Freehold Raceway for the first 5 finishers in each regional competition Final. The purse will be $40,000 - yes, $40,000 (this is not an April Fools joke)! The new format has come together after many telephone calls, lots of cajoling, extensive begging, humbling exchanges and some coercion of track managements by Greg Keidel and the undersigned. For sure, it will have some kinks and maybe a technical loophole or two. These, when discovered, will be addressed by the Racing Committee of the DMADA. All decisions taken by the Racing Committee will be final, binding and not subject to appeal or stay!!! Criticisms or complaints, irrespective of their merits, will not be tolerated, your hear!!! Points awarded to drivers in the 2001 Billings Series will be recorded for each of the Eastern Regional Competition, the Mid-West Regional Competition and the combined competitions. Points earned at wild card tracks will be awarded in each regional competition but will be counted only one time in the schedule of combined points. We will seek to post the schedules of points earned for each of the regional competitions and for the combined competitions on the Internet. We will also seek to report in writing periodically to the DMADA membership the updated points schedules. Enclosed are the official Condition Sheet, the Schedules and an Entry Form for the 2001 Billings Series. You will note that the Schedules for each regional competition are somewhat modified from those that were advertised in the media. This occurred because one track cancelled its meet and another prospective track withdrew after its local horsemen complained. Other scheduling changes may occur as the Series progresses. Please read carefully the Condition Sheet despite its length and blindingly small print. And, please complete and return the Entry Form as soon as possible. Any entry that has not been received at the DMADA headquarters by April 30, 2001 may be denied the right to participate in the first leg of the Series. The entry fee for the expanded, two-competition 2001 Billings Series has once again been held at $300. Now more than ever before, it is, indisputably, the very best deal in harness racing. For those who are "bonafide" students, there are limited scholarship funds available to partially underwrite the cost of entry. Those students wishing to compete but are lacking an angel or sponsor should contact the undersigned. The new regional format for the Billings Series has been developed to encourage broader and livelier competition in a more affordable way for the participants. Call your friends and incite them to come join in the fun and camaraderie of amateur driving and that which is the Billings experience. The 2001 Billings Series promises to be lots of fun, competitive and better than any Billings Series that has come and gone before. As in previous Billings Series, it is important that you exhaust every effort to procure your own mount before looking to the race offices of our respective host tracks to assist in arranging mounts. Because several of our legs maybe out of a participant's region, it may be necessary to contact the race office for referrals to local horsemen in seeking a mount. Please remember that, when contacting a host racetrack, the Billings Series is a guest at that racetrack and that we are being granted a privilege to compete there. Performing frontal lobotomies on race office personnel will generate neither goodwill nor a satisfactory outcome. I beg you to be cordial and charming when seeking mounts at distant host racetracks. Enough said! I look forward to competing and partying with you on the Billings circuit this spring, summer and fall. So, get out your checkbook, transfer a little of your wealth to the DMADA and come out and compete in the 2001 Billings Series. Get your friends to do likewise. The return on investment, I guarantee you, will exceed any other investment return you can achieve with these funds. Good luck, good racing and once again, may all who start, finish. And finish a Winner!
Peter G. Gerry |