It had a Major League atmosphere to it. It took place in a $25 million facility. It was perfectly orchestrated by racing experience manager Brett Revington and manager of marketing and sales Lee Drake who emceed. The simulcast room was filled with harness folk, including racing notables Kenny Arsenault, Gary Chappell, Jody Hennessey and Corey MacPherson (over 7,200 wins among them); CBC TV, the Guardian newspaper, Ocean 100/HOT 105.5 and Atlantic Post Calls. Wes Sheridan, the minister responsible for harness racing, sat at the head table and gave an inspiring presentation from the podium. A slew of television monitors high ...

On Saturday, May 12, at Red Shores at the CDP, drivers honoured three late members of the harness racing community. They formed a memorial horseshoe in recognition of David Rose, Louis MacIsaac and George Bambrick. Standing with Come Back Quick (bred by Louis MacIsaac, owned by Susan Rose and trained by David Rose) are Tiffany Ball, Melissa Rennie, Mark Bradley and Corey MacDonald. Photo by Gail and Ronota   ...

You’ve read lots and heard much about the McGuinty government’s unprecedented actions to destroy the harness racing industry in Ontario. I’ve been asked if I have ever received an answer to the letter I sent to Premier Dalton McGuinty (see APC March 16, 2012) trying to drum some sense into him and Don Drummond, who spearheaded the Drummond Report which set the table for McGuinty’s destructive actions. Well, the answer is yes. I did receive a letter signed by McGuinty, but chose not to publish it because it had nothing new to offer. I certainly wasn’t going to give him the ...

Last issue’s question: Who was the first trotter to win faster than 2:05 in the Atlantic provinces? Answer: Exit Smiling ...

Fifty years ago Bernard McGuigan worked as night watchman at the old city dump across the street from the Charlottetown Driving Park and his son 10-year-old Leonard (today known as “Barney”) started going to his dad’s friend’s barn across the street. This is where he met Art Ford, who allowed the youngster to walk horses and help around the barn. Art Ford at the time was friends with Clark Smith and this is how the long lasting relationship between “Clarkie” and Barney began. Smith enabled Barney to get his first lifetime win in a double dash at Summerside Raceway with the Clark ...

Description – Male – White man speaks with forked tongue – Political affiliation – Liberal – Ontario – Weakness – Complete nincompoop when it comes to understanding the harness racing industry and rural Ontario – Name – Premier Dalton McGuinty Description – Female – Speaks out of both sides of her mouth – Political affiliation – NDP Ontario (leader) – Weakness – Drops the ball on horse racing in critical vote – Name – Andrea Horvath What do you get when you combine Horvath’s NDPs with McGuinty’s Liberals in a crucial vote that sucked the air out of the harness racing ...

by Brett Revington ...

Open pacer Cruisinart may have had an abbreviated 2011 season, but he sure made the most of it. With seven wins from 13 starts and 10 top three finishes, the Johnny Heffernan owned pacer took home the top award at the annual Cape Breton Island Horseowner’s Association Awards Night held Saturday, April 28, in Sydney. A great crowd of approximately 300 were on hand at the Horizon Achievement Centre for the event. Cruisinart, who was handled by Myles Heffernan for most of his season, dominated the top class at Northside to kick off 2011, pacing to a season’s best 1:57. ...

This is banquet time in Maritime harness racing circles. I had the good fortune lately to attend two well organized banquets and awards galas; one put on by the Prince County Horseman’s Club (PCHC) in Summerside, and one orchestrated by the Prince Edward Island Standardbred Horse Owners Association (PEISHOA) held on the outskirts of Charlottetown. Both offered up sumptuous meals, spiffy “silverware” for the many award winners, and in the case of the latter banquet, celebrated international trainer Mark Ford of Gallo Blue Chip fame as guest speaker. Prominent at both banquets as a head table guest was PEI’s popular ...

It was precisely 15 weeks, one day, four hours and 12 minutes between the last horse crossing the finish line in 2011 and the first race starting in 2012 (my mental math skills permitting, of course). Racing at Nova Scotia’s fastest horse racing track resumed on April 1 and a large crowd was on hand to help kick off the 137th season of racing. High school English teacher, Tammy MacKay reined home the first winner of 2012 aboard seven-year-old gelding Chappelet. The duo went gait to wire in 2:03 to beat Cavallo Frosty and Elza Nico, helping handicappers cash their first ...