Trainer Mark Austin will be enshrined into the Dresden Raceway Hall of Fame on Sunday (June 18) at Dresden Raceway.

Mark Austin was a trainer who hailed from Chatham and got his start at Dresden Raceway in early 1980’s. In 1988 his reputation of being great with young horses came caught up with him as he was asked to break a yearling trotter named A Worthy Lad for Dr. Joe Johnston. A Worthy Lad never lost a race in North America, winning 30 straight races before being exported.

Austin then moved his stable closer to Windsor and worked with Jack Darling during the 1990’s when Darling Stables produced champions like Northern Luck and North America Cup winner Gothic Dream.

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

Austin died suddenly September 14, 2014 and had a career 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 favourite around the track, as he was described as a true gentleman and was one of the nicest guys in the business.

Austin’s widow Julie and two daughters, Paige and Paula will be on hand for the ceremony.

Dresden Raceway has a pacing series in Austin’s honour that will start in July.

WORLDWIDE WAGERING AVAILABLE ON DRESDEN

The Canadian Pari-Mutual Agency has given the go-ahead for Dresden Raceway to be available for live wagering through HorsePlayer International (HPI)

The races are streamed live ondresdenraceway.ca and now harness racing fans can bet on Dresden Raceway’s races into the common betting pools.

“This has the capability of increasing our live handle by 25 percent or more,” said track publicist Gary Patterson. “Other smaller tracks like Clinton Raceway benefit from having people bet on their races and it’s a big boost for a smaller track.”

This Sunday’s card of racing is set to go with a 1:30 P.M. first race post time. To view the entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Dresden Raceway.

(with files from Dresden)