Tough go from get-go in Malta.(Sports)

Byline: ROBIN YASINSAC-GILLESPIE

The final opening night on the Capital Region dirt-track racing calendar takes place tonight at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

The modifieds will be tested from the start, as promoter Bruce Richards offers a 100-lap, $3,000-to-win race.

"I don't think anybody around here has opened with a long-distance race," he said. "It's certainly a good way for the drivers to blow the cobwebs off in a hurry."

Richards' Champlain Valley Racing Association staff has been finishing repairs at the Malta-based oval.

Over the past few years, he had replaced a majority of the grandstands. He finalized the project with the …