Channing Hill cameo at Fonner

Fonner Park regulars now have strong rooting connections on both coasts.

Channing Hill, a Columbus, Neb., native, will ride this Sunday at Fonner after returning home for a family event.

Hill, son of former rider Alan Hill, is eighth in the rider standings at Aqueduct with 24 wins from 252 mounts. Hill started his professional career at Ag Park in Columbus in 2003 while still in high school. In 2004, he rode regularly at Prairie Meadows during the summer, then returned to graduate midterm from Columbus High. He made the move to New York that winter and was a finalist for the Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey of 2005.

Last Sunday, apprentice Dylan Williams rode in his last races locally before heading west to Santa Anita, where he was named on a single mount for both Wednesday and Thursday. He left Fonner as the second-leading rider with 27 wins, 2 more than his father, R.D. Williams, and 1 behind leader Dennis Collins.

* Tanner Riggs, a young rider, scored a four-win day last Friday and had seven winners over the weekend as he moved to third in the rider standings with 26 wins. Riggs opened Friday's card with a $6.60 win aboard Second Tam Around and then closed out the day with wins in the final three races on longshots Mr Launch ($57.40) and Sum of It All ($43.20) and favored Marvel M. ($5.60). No one had all three winners in the pick three, but two of three paid $642.60.

* With the meet reaching its midway point last weekend, David Anderson leads the trainer standings with 16 wins, with Jason Wise and Larry Donlin tied for second at 11 each. Donlin and Milton Gaede, with 10 wins, have been sending out winners at nearly a 40 percent clip. Donlin runners have posted an 11-7-6 mark from 27 starts while Gaede has an in-the-money rate of 10-4-8 from 26 starts.