Dresden Raceway is proud to announce the Mark Austin Pacing Series to its 2017 schedule.

The series will be a late closer for maiden pacers who are non-winners of 1 pari-mutuel race or $5,000 lifetime (fillies $6,000 lifetime) Canadian funds as of May 27, 2017 with no allowances.

Each division will race for a $5,000 purse in the eliminations Sunday, July 9 and Sunday, July 16, with the $10,000 final scheduled for Sunday, July 23.

The nomination closing date is Sunday, June 25 at 4:00 p.m.

Austin was a trainer who hailed from Chatham, Ont. and got his start at Dresden Raceway in early 1980s training for owners such as Graham Chambers. In 1988, his reputation of being great with young horses caught up with him, as he was asked to break a yearling trotter named A Worthy Lad for Joe Johnston. A Worthy Lad never lost a race in North America.

Austin then moved his stable closer to Windsor and worked with Jack Darling during the ‘90s when Darling Stables produced champions like Northern Luck and Gothic Dream.

(L-R: Dan Smith, Julie Austin, Fool Me Once, Mark Austin, Paige Austin, Sylvain Filion, Paula Austin.
Photo credit, New Image Media)

When Windsor Raceway started to stumble, Austin moved his operation to Fergus, Ont. where horses like Sparky Mark and Fool Me Once headlined his stable.

Austin, who passed away suddenly in 2014, had a career training average of .345 and over $9 million in earned purses thanks to 837 wins.

Austin wasn’t only a top-notch trainer – he was also a favourite around the track, as he was described as a true gentleman and was one of the nicest guys in the business.

Mark was married to Julie, with two daughters, Paige and Paula.

(Dresden Raceway)