Live harness racing will return to Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park on Thursday evening (June 4), as the island track will be the first oval in the nation to host live pari-mutuel racing since March.

The Red Shores broadcast team will be back with 'Race Day,' which will start airing at 5:30 p.m. (AST).

First-race post time for the 10-race program will be at 6 p.m.

The featured race on the docket will be the $2,900 Fillies and Mares Open Pace, which has been carded as Race 9 and is a much-anticipated matchup between newcomers.

A field of top-class mares are set to tussle in the Fillies and Mares Open Pace, including Berazzled (to be driven by Mike McGuigan), who has moved into the Jonah Moase stable of Warren Grove after a private purchase by his father, Neal Moase, over the winter months. The mare had been racing at Yonkers Raceway in New York and will start from Post 2. Berazzled has been installed as the morning line favourite for the dash and is heading in fresh off of an 11-length, 1:56.1 romp in a recent qualifier.

Dreamfair Zenfire also turned in an impressive qualifier in what was her first charted line on the east coast, as trainer Marc Campbell steered her to a 1:57.3 going-away victory Saturday at Red Shores. The mile was recorded over a muddy track that featured a two-second variant. Campbell and Everett MacLeod of Souris own the four-year-old daughter of Sunfire Blue Chip, who is heading into Thursday riding a two-race win streak from the Ontario racing circuit. She is set to start from Post 6 on Thursday.

Much Adoo has been installed as the third choice on the morning line and is set to start from Post 7 for trainer Ron Matheson and owner Rollwithitharry Racing of Marshfield. Brodie MacPhee is scheduled to be in the bike behind the Dover Downs invader. The Thursday card will mark the return to the driving ranks for the 34-year-old MacPhee, a former top driver on PEI, who has not driven in a pari-mutuel race since August of 2014. For more on his return, click here.

Collective Wisdom (Ron Matheson), newcomer Southwind Ion (Jason Hughes), Woodmere Chella (David Dowling) and Private Di (Kenny Arsenault) are also set to contest the Fillies and Mares Open.

The fillies and mares 'back-up class' has been slotted as the card's Race 10 finale and will carry a $2,400 purse. Miss Kabana is set to make her PEI debut from Post 3. Vincent Poulton is scheduled to be in the bike for co-owner and trainer Gary Poulton and fellow Charlottetown owners Gail MacDonald and Trevor Warren. The Mach Three miss has been competing in the claiming ranks at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario. Other top entries in the race are Arc Light (Marc Campbell) from Post 6 and Tell Me Why (Corey MacPherson) from Post 5.

The lone trotting race of the evening will take to the track for Race 5. Osprey Delta has been favoured and will start from Post 1 in the $1,750 class for owner-trainer-driver Paul Larrabee of Belle River. The Tad The Stud five-year-old last raced at Plainridge Park in Massachusetts for trainer Mike Stevenson.

Customers on PEI will be able to watch and wager on the Thursday card through Horse Player Interactive (HPI). It is free to join at hpibet.com. Other customers and fans around the globe will have access to the season opener via wagering platforms.

Red Shores feature races will be available on Proline all summer long.

For race programs, HPIBET.com and the Race Day broadcast, head to redshores.ca

To view the harness racing entries for Thursday at the CDP, click the following link: Thursday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.

(With files from Red Shores)