Saint John's harness racing community will honour the memory of one of its most significant contributors on Friday when Exhibition Park Raceway hosts the Milton Downey Memorial Pace

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The $7,500 invitational pace will put the finishing touches on the annual exhibition week of racing at the Saint John oval and will pay tribute to the late Milton Downey, a well-known Port City businessman who operated a prominent stable of racehorses.

“Many people have played a role in the development of harness racing in Saint John over the years, but I would argue that no one made a more lasting impact than Milton Downey,” said EPR general manager Dave MacLean. “He bought many established racehorses to campaign in the region, he raised hundreds of colts and fillies on his own and he also acted as a track operator and a corporate sponsor for decades. It’s very appropriate that the marquee race of our season carries his name.”

The track has assembled eight of the top pacers in the region for the free-for-all event, including three with New Brunswick ownership -- Ultimate Success (co-owned by Gornall Arseneau of Moncton), Joseph Michael (owned by Capital A Investments of Fredericton and Valerie Phelan of Geary) and MD Hardlys Success (owned by Bill Smith and Wayne Watson of Saint John). Mike Stevenson will drive Ultimate Success, Todd Trites gets the call with Joseph Michael and Gilles Barrieau will handle the reins for MD Hardlys Success.

Other starters in the Downey Memorial are Oakmont (Danny Romo), Serious Damage (Earl Smith), As Tuff As Nails (Marc Whebby), Outlawpositivcharg (Terry Gallant) and Formal Affair (Mark Bradley).

Friday’s 13-dash program will also include Atlantic Sires Stakes action for three-year-old pacing colts and a Young Guns driving competition featuring some up-and-coming young drivers from the Maritimes and Maine.

Local drivers Dale Spence and Andrew Ward will represent the host province, while Brad Smith and Nick Oakes will represent Prince Edward Island, Ben Hollingsworth and Katie Miller will compete from Nova Scotia, and the Pine Tree State will be represented by Chris Nye and Andrew Harrington.

Post time for the first of 13 races is 4 p.m.

Here is a look at the field for the Milton Downey Memorial Pace in post position order:

1. Ultimate Success - Stevenson - 8-1
2. Joseph Michael - Trites - 10-1
3. Oakmont - Romo - 5-2
4. Serious Damage - Smith - 7-2
5. Md Hardlys Success - Barrieau - 12-1
6. As Tuff As Nails - Whebby - 4-1
7. Outlawpositivcharg - Gallant - 6-1
8. Formal Affair - Bradley - 3-1

To view Friday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Friday Entries - Exhibition Park Raceway.

(Exhibition Park Raceway)