Earlier this week, The Raceway at Western Fair District's Director of Racing Greg Blanchard and track announcer Sugar Doyle brought some mini Molson Pace fun to downtown London, Ont. in advance of the big night.
Fresh off a victory in the "Battle of the Young Gunz" at The Raceway two weeks ago, six-year-old Travis Moore and his mini horse Wally joined the Western Fair team at Victoria Park on Tuesday afternoon to help promote the Molson Pace, which garnered some attention from CTV London.
The $150,000 Molson Pace is scheduled as the final race of The Raceway's meet on Friday night.
"It's great horse racing, it's a great night of racing, but it's a lot more than that," Blanchard told CTV's Brent Lale. "It's become a real fun-filled event with a lot happening."
First race post time is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Molson Pace estimated to head to post at 10:55 p.m. to headline a powerful card that includes the first Gold leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes season for the three-year-old male pacers as well as the City of London Series finals. The wagering menu includes a $5,000 Guaranteed Early Pick-3, $10,000 Guaranteed Early Pick-4, $15,000 Guaranteed Late Pick-4, and additional Super Hi-5.
Off track, there will be a 'Molson Party on the Patio' with BBQ and beer specials, Molson Pace cake available in the lobby, and hat & T-shirt tosses and giveaways throughout the night in the grandstand and on the patio. The Hands on Horses Program will also be offering the chance to ride behind a racehorse. All the action will kick off with the National Anthem performed by rising country music star Eric Ethridge.
"The race itself this year, I would say the best ever, the best ever field we've had assembled," said Blanchard.
This year's field has earned a combined $9.1 million and includes Bit Of A Legend N ($1,525,011), Rockin In Heaven ($548,971), Clear Vision ($2,703,859), Fool Me Once ($963,778), defending champion and track record holder Evenin Of Pleasure ($773,857), Sunfire Blue Chip ($1,181,939), Rockin Ron ($665,988) and Night Pro ($738,432).
"We don't want to make this race easy to win by any means and that's why we've been working on it for months now, putting together the best possible field we can to showcase our signature race, the Molson Pace," said Doyle. "It's become quite prestigious throughout the horse racing community, all over North America, and I think we put together a fabulous field here. We have a great team and we're looking forward to a big, big race."
For a free printable program for Molson Pace Night, click here.
(With files from CTV London)