By Bill MacKendrick

Atlantic Canada has experienced a year of racing thrills and regrettable spills. Fortunately the thrills outnumbered the spills in 2011, but there were some nasty accidents across the region.
Red Shores in Charlottetown had a few; so did Northside Downs, Exhibition Park Raceway and Truro. One of those accidents, along the Truro Raceway oval, involved a six-horse pile up in an eight-house field. In that one, on October 2, Clayton Stevens and his filly Capital Deal, in the lead, went down and five more horses and drivers got caught up in the mishap. Gilles Barrieau, Clayton Stevens and Hilliard Graves sustained injuries, while the horses involved fared somewhat better. Stevens was flattened by his horse as it landed on him. Ouch! Barrieau broke his wrist and had finger fractures, and ex-NHLer Hillard Graves broke an ankle.
Late January saw some of the best drivers in Atlantic Canada compete in the Atlantic Regional Driving Championship with the top two finishers representing us at the National Driving Championship (NDC) held at Red Shores Charlottetown in May. In January competing drivers included PEI Marc Campbell, Gary Chappell and Kenny Arsenault from Prince Edward Island; Gilles Barrieau and Todd Trites from New Brunswick; Ryan Campbell and Robert Laffin from Nova Scotia; and Shane Forward from Newfoundland. Kenny Arsenault and Gilles Barrieau stood at the top of the point totals and were chosen to represent Atlantic Canada at the NDC.
Winter and early spring have their share of banquets where trophies and awards are distributed at the various tracks. At the Fredericton Horseman’s Association banquet, Horse of the Year honours went to Jags Rasin, owned by Mel Land of Hopewell Cape, NB. The horse consistently raced competitively in the top class and lowered his mark to 1:56.3 in 2010. Driver of the Year honours went to Gilles Barrieau, and Sandra Foley took home Trainer of the Year.
At the Alberta Standardbred Horse Owners Awards Banquet, Bill Andrew of Meridian Farms, won the 2010 Horseperson of the Year Award, in recognition for his philanthropy within the sport.
At Red Shores Summerside, the Prince County Horsemen’s Club banquet, Horse of the Year honours went to Outlawpositivcharge, a three “peat” for this classy horse who dominated the Island Invitational scene in 2010. Horseman of the Year went to Thane Mann. Top percentage driver went to Marc Campbell, whose familiar green and white colours always seem to be in the top three every race. The coveted Joe OBrien award for horsemanship went to Summerside harness racing icon, Dale Sobey, who has campaigned and taken great care of hundreds of horses over the last 40 plus years.
At the PEI Standardbred Horse Owners Association Annual Awards banquet at Red Shores Charlottetown, Marc Campbell took home 2010 Driver of the Year honours making it a daily double at the two Island tracks for him. Kenny Arsenault won Trainer of the Year while Horse of the Year honours went to the ultra-consistent Alex MacPhee-owned horse, Pans O Silver.
Over in beautiful Inverness, Cape Breton, Aahm Cruisin, owned by Louis and Anthony Beaton took home the hardware for Horse of the Year. The horse raced 24 times and had eight wins, seven seconds and two thirds while racing in the top class. Other awards went to top UDRS driver Gary Delaney, who had a .421 percentage. The top UDRS trainer, with a terrific percentage of .457 went to Walter Walker, and Jamie Copley won the Harold Hunt Award of Excellence in honour of his training exploits in Ontario. Just up the road in North Sydney, Angus MacKenzie was inducted into the Cape Breton Island Horseowners Hall of Fame. He received his award at the Cape Breton Horseman’s Association banquet. Horse of the Year honours went to Woodmere Westerner owned by Mary Lynn and Howie Collins, and top UDRS Driver went to Greg Bailey.
At the Saint John Harness Horsemen’s Association banquet the three-year-old colt Allbentouttashape, owned by Sean Dooley, claimed Horse of the Year honours. This horse had a dominant three-year-old campaign and was a worthy winner. Top driver award, of course, went to “Magic Man” Gilles Barrieau, and Sam Hodgin won the Horseman of the Year Award.
Truro was the final stop on the banquet circuit. Highlights included Todd Trites winning Driver of the Year. Nicholas White won Trainer of the Year and Haley MacDonald won Horsewoman of the Year. Aged Horse of the Year went to Roi De Coeur BG, which translates into king of the heart.
In May, the National Driving Championship was held in Charlottetown and what a show it was as the eight regional winners from across Canada contested for the title. Representatives from Western Canada were Brandon Campbell and Dave Hudon; from Ontario, Trevor Henry and Jody Jamieson; from Quebec Mario Charron and Sylvain Lacaille; and from Atlantic Canada, Kenny Arsenault and Gilles Barrieau. Just to put into perspective the quality of the drivers in this event there was a cumulative total of 20,159 wins and over $139 million in lifetime earnings. The winner of the event was Jody Jamieson with 81 points. He had four wins and two seconds in the eight races. Finishing in the place position was Gilles Barrieau with 57 points and getting the show with 51 points was Kenny Arsenault.
June saw the Invitational level horses start to ply their trade for the year as the Cecil Ladner Memorial was contested. The two elimination divisions went to As Tuff As Nails in 1:55.1 as he passed pacesetter Oakmont in the stretch; and Joseph Michael who led gate to wire, winning in 1:57.1. The final went to Joseph Michael and Todd Trites in 1:55.2 as he held off a hard charging Oakrock Almighty. Putnams Force was a game third. Also on June 18 the $1.5 million Pepsi North American Cup for three year olds was contested at Mohawk and Up The Credit, driven by Jody Jamieson and trained and owned by his father Carl Jamieson, was a one-length winner, pacing his mile in 1:49.3. He defeated Roll With Joe and Big Jim.
A packed grandstand at the Charlottetown Driving Park witnessed a super Saturday night card on June 25. The prestigious Maritime Breeders Finals for three-year-old pacers highlighted the card and there were no surprises in who took top honours.
Morah Kerr and Phonsie Maceachern’s Honey Do Jigtime went wire to wire in capturing the $27,425 final for Three Year Old Pacing Fillies. The big Coastocoast Yankee filly held off Moon Landing by a length in the 1:57.4 mile. Claire MacDonald does the training and driving. Stablemate Forthena finished third.
The $22,840 Colt Final produced a wild finish with the top six finishers within two lengths of the winner at the wire. Putnams Art, a son of Southwind Balsam, made a late charge down the stretch to capture top prize for driver/trainer Pooker McCallum and owner Wesley Patriquin of Nova Scotia. Putnams Power was second, and a half length back of the winner in the 1:56 mile.
The Atlantic Sires Stakes program got off to a rocky start when Horse Racing New Brunswick (HRNB) announced that the New Brunswick government was not going to contribute its financial share to the program and the stakes races to be held in Fredericton were cancelled. Eventually some common ground was found and some of the events were held in the fall.
July featured the Walter Dale Memorial in Fredericton and Serious Damage paced an impressive mile in 1:55.1, as he vanquished Malek Hanover and Outlawpositivcharg. Also on the same card there were Atlantic Sires Stakes for three-year-old old fillies, with Bemused, Moon Landing and Acton Normal winning the three A” divisions. The $16,000 Governors Plate was held in Summerside on a beautiful summer evening. Serious Damage, owned by Wade Peconi and Ryan MacPhee, posted an upset win in the final, allowing Kenny Arsenault to earn his first Governors Plate winning drive. The duo stopped the timer in 1:54.3 as they held off hard-charging Outlawpositivcharg and Terry Gallant. Formal Affair was third. Earlier in the week the great three-year-old trotter Waiting on a Woman, owned by Mitchel (also trainer) and David Tierney and driven by Corey MacPherson, romped to victory in a track record 1:59.1, during an Atlantic Sires Stakes event. Also in July, female driving sensation Katie Miller had her first sub two minute mile, winning in Inverness with Major Venue in 1:59.3.
The last week in July meant Grand Circuit Week in Truro. The winner of the $7,500 Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Cup was Formal Affair, driven to an 11-open-length victory, in a snappy 1:55.1 by Mark Bradley, for Dale and Ronnie Rennie of Alma, PEI. Finishing second was Outlawpositivcharg, with As Tuff As Nails getting the show spot. Other highlights from the week included the Nova Scotia Stakes for three-year-old colts with two divisions. The first division winner was Putnams Power in 1:56.4 and the second division winner went to Pictonians Souwest in 1:57.4. The Frank and Beth Stanfield Memorial went in three divisions, for $18,850 each. Winners were Charolettes Maggie in 1:58.4, Honey Do Jigtime in 1:58 and Grayland Rain in 1:57.4.
August brought better weather as the cool wet weather that had plagued the region was replaced with warm, dry conditions just in time for Old Home Week (OHW). Prior to OHW in Charlottetown was OHW in Woodstock, New Brunswick style. The winner of the Kelti Burnett Memorial Pace was As Tuff As Nails in 1:55.4 for Mark and Wayne Whebby. In Charlottetown, there were three Gold Cup Trials and the winners were Fleet Sensation in 1:53, driven by Gilles Barrieau; Firethorn in a lightning quick 1:51.3, driven by John MacDonald; and Blissful Breeze in 1:52.3, driven by Mark MacDonald. The winner of the Gold Cup and Saucer was Blissfull Breeze in 1:53.1. The eight-year-old bay gelding, owned by Leo Racicot of Harrow, Ontario and trained by Dean Nixon, was driven to victory by PEI’s Mark MacDonald. Firethorn was second, and track record holder Part Shark was third. The total wager on the evening card was a solid $275,906. In late August, the $7,500 Inverness Invitational was contested and the winner was the sensational Formal Affair in 1:54.3. Oakmont finished second and Outlawpositivcharg finished in third place.
In September, Fredericton staged its popular FREX week. In the Jenny and Joe Chippin Memorial Invitational Pace it was, as Yogi Berra said, “deja vu all over again, as Formal Affair won this race for the second consecutive year, overtaking pacesetter Oakmont at the top of the stretch to win in 1:55.2. On Labour Day, Katie Miller won the Young Guns Driving Championship.
October marked the Atlantic Breeders Crown (ABC) weekend held at Red Shores Charlottetown. First off on Friday was the Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale in Crapaud, where 109 yearlings brought a respectable average price of $3,983. Pictonians Tabitha was purchased by Daniel Ross of Belfast, PEI for $20,000. On Saturday the consolation races were held in the afternoon, followed by a gala reception in the evening honouring the OBrien family from PEI, Cliff Garland family from Newfoundland, George Irving family from New Brunswick and the MacQuarrie family from Nova Scotia. Sunday’s ABC winning pacers were two-year-old colt Astronomical Union in 1:57, two-year-old filly Pictonian Amanda in 1:57.4, three-year-old filly Honey Do Jigtime in 1:57.1, and three-year-old colt Pictonians Souwest in 1:56.2. Each of these finals went for $24,000. The winning trotters were two-year-old My Daisy Duke in 2:05.1 and three-year-old Maple Leaf Spirit in 2:00.3. The ABC Invitational trots went for $7,000 each.
In Truro, at the Maritime Breeders Futurity Finals, Malabrigo won the $40,430 two-year-old pacing filly race in 2:00.1 for trainer/driver Marc Campbell. The lightly raced Mr. Thompson was an upset winner in the two-year-old $38,620 pacing colt final, winning in 1:59.3.
The PEI Matinee Finals were staged at Red Shores Summerside and Jimmy MacMillan was the star as he paraded three horses back to the winner’s circle. Jimmy looked like he could drive with the big boys as he rated his horses extremely well. The Erwin Andrew Memorial Final for open mares was won by J K Special in 1:57. The mare was parked every step of the way in winning for trainer/owner Joe Smallwood. Driven to victory by the very capable Walter Cheverie she was a very deserving champion
November saw the wrap up of Maritime Stakes action with the Island Breeders Stakes in Charlottetown. The highlight of the Island Breeders Finals was Maple Leaf Spirit. After making an early miscue spotting the field some 19 lengths, she regained her composure and won her race. It was an incredible feat by an incredible three-year-old trotter and the incredible veteran driver, Ralph Annear. Spirit has been sold by Annear to Ontario interests. Also in November, Riccaras Sun, owned by Kenny MacInnis, paced a marvelous mile of 1:55.2 on a cool, blustery afternoon.
December was all about the chase by Marc Campbell to break the track record for most wins by a driver in Charlottetown in one season. The current record of 118 wins has been held by the late, great Paul MacDonald for over 20 years.
Saturday, December 10, at his home track, Campbell notched win 119 and broke the all-time win total for a driver at the Charlottetown oval. He added win 120 to his record the same day and the year isn’t over yet. Congratulations Marc!
Season’s greetings to everyone, and may 2012 be a happy and prosperous year!

With files from
Shane Bernard.