A pair of Nova Scotia Stakes to be called by a special guest announcer and plenty of off-track events will highlight one more Friday evening program at Truro Raceway before the harness action shifts to Sunday matinees.
Two-year-old pacing fillies will compete in two $6,594 divisions of the Nova Scotia Stakes.
Kinda Like Royalty will be looking for her breakthrough victory when she leaves from the inside post position in the first division, which will go postward as Race 5. Trained by Joseph Baxter, the daughter of Westwardho Hanover is a two-time runner-up in Atlantic Sires Stakes action and missed by just a nose in a 1:57.2 mile two starts back at Truro in the July 13 leg. Walter Cheverie will be back aboard for N.S. owners Jennifer Baxter of Windsor and Karen Williams of Hants County.
Among her five rivals are the Clare MacDonald-trained West River Glo, who has hit the board in all three of her stakes starts, Cougar On A Terr, coming off two consecutive wins at Inverness for trainer/co-owner Walter Walker, and Tobins Reward, a recent maiden-breaker from the Darren Crowe stable.
The second split will see a trio of P.E.I. Colt Stakes winners face off in another six-horse field, including Baxter trainee JJ Linda, who is two-for-three lifetime and will start from post four. Leaving to her outside is Alex Baird’s homebred Rhojo Moe, who showed late speed to finish second in the last Sires Stakes leg before her maiden victory, and JJs Scarlett, a consistent stakes contender trained by Walker. Both fillies defeated division leaders with their latest stakes winning efforts at Summerside Raceway.
It’s rare for veteran track announcer Joe Kelly to miss a race, but Shannon ‘Sugar’ Doyle will be calling all the action. The Friday racing program will be the first full card in Nova Scotia for Doyle, who has been calling races for more than 16 years in Alberta and Ontario.
Alberta reinsman Tyler Redwood, a winner of more than 400 races, will be visiting Nova Scotia to pick up a few catch drives on Friday and raise awareness for mental health and addictions support. Read more about his story in the August issue of TROT Magazine.
Marjorie Simmins, author of “Somebeachsomewhere: A Harness Racing Legend from a One-Horse Stable,” will be signing and selling books trackside during the program from 5-7 p.m. Schooner Stables team members will also be stopping by to say hello to ‘Beach’ fans!
Post time for Friday’s 12-race program is 5 p.m. Live racing will then continue on Sunday afternoons, with a 12:45 p.m. post time, through December 12.
To view Friday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Friday Entries - Truro Raceway.