HorseRacing Central March 13, 2009
AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT …
Eight harness drivers from four Canadian regions stand ready to compete for the 2009 National Driving Championship on Saturday, March 21 at Fraser Downs.
Bring on the Rocky theme.
It’s the first time that Standardbred Canada has ever designated Fraser Downs as the site of the National Final. GM Chuck Keeling gathered his marketing team together a couple of months ago to ensure that no stone was left unturned to make the eight drivers, their families and friends enjoy their West Coast visit to the fullest.
They arrive from various parts of the country throughout the day on Wednesday, March 18 and check into the River Rock Resort. On Thursday the drivers will be at River Rock’s Thompson Banquet Room for a matinee ‘meet-and-greet’, then head to GM Place for the Canucks-St. Louis NHL game by way of the Players Chop House for a pre-game dinner.
Friday night – March 20 – the drivers have been invited to enjoy the regular Fraser Downs races and Racing Director Jackson Wittup said he would work on arrangements for some of the visitors to drive if they want to familiarize themselves with the track.
With the Canucks’ “Lucky Charm” anthem singer Mark Donnelly on board to officially launch Saturday’s explosive card, everything should be in place for one of the most entertaining afternoon ever staged at Fraser Down.
THE DRIVERS
The eight drivers in the Canadian Final represent four regional champions; the West, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic. An eight-race National Final where points are awarded based on the order of finish will determine the Canadian representative at the World Driving Championship in Northway next May.
Western Region
Fraser Downs reigning champion Bill Davis and Alberta’s Kelly Hoerdt should draw the largest cheering section. Davis recently joined an elite group of drivers when he hit a driving milestone of 5,000 wins. Hoerdt is a household name throughout the West who has over 1,300 wins and purses earned of more than $19 million.
Ontario Region
Paul MacDonnell and Brad Forward are major threats. MacDonnell enjoyed a career year in 2008 with earnings in excess of $8 million as he was fortunate enough to drive North America’s Horse of the Year, the incomparable Somebeachsomewhere. Forward’s wins are nearing 3,200 and purses earned of more than $19 million.
Quebec Region
Guy Gagnon and Daniel Potvin represent Quebec. Gagnon has a consistent above .300 driving average while Potvin is a late bloomer, not starting in the industry until he was 30.
Atlantic Region
Gilles Barrieau is the reigning National Driving Champion. He represented Canada in New Zealand and Australia at the World Final in 2007. Marc Campbell is the youngest of the eight drivers but he’s been at it since he was 19 and has more than 330 career wins to his credit.
All eight drivers will be in their colours signing autographs in the Atrium at Fraser Downs on Saturday morning before the races. Fans are encouraged to participate in autograph session and are welcome to bring cameras.
| Western Region | Ontario Region | ||
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Bill Davis |
Kelly Hoerdt |
Brad Forward |
Paul McDonell |
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Quebec Region |
Atlantic Region |
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| Guy Gagnon | Daniel Potvin | Gilles Barrieau | Marc Campbell |
PRINCESS OF THE PACIFIC FINAL
A full field of nine will contest Saturday’s $100,000 Final of the Princess of the Pacific, a mile pace for Fillies & Mares. The lukewarm choice would be Robert Murphy-owned Lil Kim with regular drive Jim Burke in the bike. She’s drawn into post two. Second choice is B Bar Marilyn from the number three post position, driven and trained by Tim Brown.
Congratulations to trainer David Hudon, Jr. for nailing his first training win with Lil Kent, returning a whopping $139. With his slump-ridden Dad in the bike, it was a nice victory all around.
The California Dreamin Finals go on Saturday in the Party Zone of the Grandstand. Ten finalists – nine men and one woman – will go head-to-head to determine who will win a trip for two to see the Santa Anita Derby in April . The contestants are Ken Ouellette, John MacInnes, Koji Kariya, Jerry Dawson, Walter Valleau, Emma Laird, Dave Mahy, James Crawford, Julio D’Oliveira and Louis Iskra.
This week’s Magna 5 has a carry over for the first time 2009 of $218,894. It might be worth a play this week.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Once again there are several important stakes races this weekend and we’ll start at Fair Grounds in Louisiana where they will be hosting four graded races with purses over $2 million. It starts in Race 6 (1:07 p.m.) with the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks headed by a rapidly improving Rachel Alexandra. Next up is the $500,000 New Orleans Handicap (1:38 p.m.) at a mile and an eighth and has drawn a big field of 14. I like the speedy Wishful Tomcat, who doesn’t appear to be facing much other speed. The action moves to the grass course (2:09 p.m.) for the $500,000 Mervyn Muniz Memorial at nine furlongs then the $600,000 Lousiana Derby (2:45 p.m.) featuring Fair Grounds based star Friesan Fire.
The 3-year-olds are in the spotlight at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas where all of the attention seems to be on undefeated Old Fashioned. Out west at Santa Anita one of the Kentucky Derby Future bet favourites Pioneer of the Nile will run in the $200,000 San Felipe (2:03 p.m.) at a mile and a sixteenth. Later on the card is the Grade 1 Santa Margarita, headed by the talented filly Life is Sweet.
