Vernon Downs is getting into the Halloween spirit by hosting a race exclusively for grey horses on Halloween Night, Friday, October 31.

The race has drawn a field of seven, including local favourite The Grey Bullet. The excitement will happen in Race 8 on the 11-dash program which begins at 6:45 p.m.

“Fewer than one per cent of the Standardbred racehorse population is grey, so we had to work hard to find enough horses to put this race together,” said the track’s director of racing, Scott Warren, “but we think it will be exciting for the fans and so perfect on Halloween night to see the grey horses racing through the stretch at Vernon Downs.”

Earlier in the evening, one of the area’s favourite grey horses of all-time, Four One One, will officially retire in a winner’s circle ceremony. The 12-year-old, owned by Robert Siemski of Utica, raced 135 times at Vernon Downs over an eight-year period. He won 16 races at Vernon Downs including his last career start this past May.

Closing Night of the 2014 Vernon Downs racing season is Saturday (November 1) with a special first-race post time of 6 p.m. The 11-race card will begin with a long-sleeve t-shirt giveaway, free while supplies last, and concludes with a spectacular fireworks display following the last race of the season.

(Vernon Downs)