Big Weekend For Maritime Horsemen?
It has the potential to be an amazing holiday weekend for Maritime harness racing connections. Dr. Ian Moore of Charlottetown, PEI will send Astronomical to compete in the Horse Racing New Brunswick Invitational Pace, to wrap up Atlantic National Exhibition Week racing at Exhibition Park in Saint John.
Dr. Moore, who co-owns other standouts with R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, NB and hockey Hall of Famer, Serge Savard, will also have Malicious leaving from Post 1 in the $1 million Metro Pace for two-year-olds at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville, Ontario. The same ownership group sends out Little Brown Jug champ Shadow Play in the $685,000 Canadian Pacing Derby on the same card. Both horses can be followed during coast-to-coast coverage on The Score Saturday night.
Moore also trains Astronomical, a veteran standout facing six others in the $6,000 event in Saint John Saturday afternoon. Astronomical will appear in the final race on a 16-dash card beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Others in the big event at EPR include Walter Dale Memorial winner All Star Dragon (PP3, G. Barrieau), Porthill Alf (PP7, M. Stevenson) and Robert McCain Memorial winner St Pete Star (PP6, D. Romo).
The matinee also includes five divisions of the Atlantic Sires Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts, and the Ingham Palmer Memorial Junior Invitational. The race named for the late Palmer recognizes his lifelong contributions to the harness racing industry.
Palmer was the dean of Maritime track announcers, worked as a publicist, and co-hosted the morning show on CHSJ Radio in Saint John. Fredericton-based Igoddago (M. Campbell) is among the favourites, along with Pans O Silver (B. MacPhee), B J Cruiser (G. Barrieau) and Take The Risk (M. Stevenson).
The Fredericton Exhibition Week begins Labour Day with harness racing programs in the afternoon and evening. Four divisions of the Williamson Memorial stakes for two-year-old pacers will highlight the doubleheader. Sean Dooley’s Allbentouttashape is among the headliners, fresh off an Atlantic Sires Stakes triumph in Saint John.
Fredericton will hold consecutive eight-race cards on Monday. The action will kick off at 1:00 p.m. Fredericton will also race Wednesday evening, and a doubleheader Saturday as part of FREX Week.
(With files from Horse Racing New Brunswick)
Nice to Honour “Ing The
Nice to Honour “Ing The King” Saturday
I was very pleased to hear that the operators of Horse Racing New Brunswick will honor the memory of the “Dean of Maritime Racing” and the best promoter of the sport that this city will ever see. The featured race of the week will be in memory of the former track announcer/ public relations specialist on Saturday.
Ingham Palmer was an institution in harness racing in the city with his name was and still is, synonymous with the industry as a whole. He was responsible for putting many great events on in the city at E.P.R including the unforgettable Provincial Cups back in the days when racing was prospering.
Series such as the Alpine Autumn Gold that featured horses such as Winners Accolade, Kaweco, and others that would familiar to any fans who followed the sport in the city. His calls of epic battles between such free-for-all pacers Scotch Gauman and the incomparable Power Baron are still talked about to this day.
It’s great to see Horse Racing New Brunswick honour the memory of a man who is responsible for so much, gave so much to the sport, and left a lasting legacy on everyone that he came in contact with.