Horse Racing New Brunswick, for the second card in a row, will offer more than $50,000 in purse money with the running of the lucrative Milton Downey Memorial Stakes that will go in three divisions at Woodstock Raceway on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 7. There will be two divisions of two-year-old pacing fillies competing for purses of $11,200 and one colt division going for $21,200.

In all, there will be eight races on the matinee card, which gets underway at 1 p.m. There are five overnight races on the card, including a $2,500 top class that will feature Press Time looking to go back-to-back after an eye-popping 1:54.1 win last week for new owner Zach Cougle, trainer Averil Hunter and and driver Jason Hughes.

The annual Milton Downey Memorial Stakes, a staple on the New Brunswick stakes calendar, honours the memory of the owner, builder, breeder, trainer and well-known Atlantic Canadian entrepreneur. Milton operated a public stable in Saint John, N.B. for several years. Not only did he breed his own horses, but he also purchased several "Down Under" horses who made names for themselves in the Maritimes -- horses like Timely Robin, Scottish Heath N, Bright Breezy N, Glen Lustre and many more. He also campaigned horses in the top class from his own stable, including Christopher C Down.

In the first filly Downey division, Lady Hess has been given top billing by race secretary Brent Briggs. She has two wins and two seconds in six starts this year and $12,552 in purse earnings. Jamie Smith trains the daughter of Heston Blue Chip who was a $13,000 yearling purchase from the Atlantic Classic Sale. Adam Merner will drive the post five starter for owner Groupof7 Stable of Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Merner has another good shot in the other filly division with Woodmere Flojo (pictured above), another Jamie Smith trainee who is having a stellar year with $31,597 earned in just half a dozen starts. The Arthur Blue Chip filly, who has a record reading 3-2-1 in those six outings for owner the Charlottetown-based Gowiththeflo Racing, will also start from post five in her division. My Happy Place is undefeated in 2024 in two starts and is another top choice of the oddsmaker. The daughter of Shadow Play has banked $11,910 in her two stakes wins and comes from the high-producing Ron Matheson stable. Gilles Barrieau will drive the division's inside starter for Charlottetown's Patrick Morris.

In the colt division, post four starter One Wicked Man has been the valedictorian of the freshman boys this year in the Maritimes with a 1:56.2 win and only one loss. Kenny Arsenault trains and drives the colt by McWicked who is four-for-five this year with $21,027 in earnings for owner James Perrot of Stratford, P.E.I. The New Brunswick-owned Sergeant Crowley has been a nice surprise for the Ultimate Stable of Greater Lakeburn. The Sifroi Melanson trainee has $22,431 in earnings this season and a win in 1:58.1 with top three finishes in his seven other starts. Myles Heffernan Sr. gets the call to drive the gelded son of Arthur Blue Chip from post five. 

New Brunswick moves to Saturday racing through the month of September.

To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodstock Raceway NB.

(With files from Horse Racing New Brunswick)