The winning horse and owner in Saturday’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Pace will be in for a special treat at Freehold Raceway. The winning connections will receive a unique blanket that has been hand-delivered right from Ireland.

Owner/breeder Derek Delaney from Dublin has come over from Ireland and is donating the specially designed blanket in honour of his big stakes race on the weekend of August 8 and 9, the Ladbrokes Vincent Delaney Memorial at Portmarnock Raceway.

“We have come over from Ireland just to root home fellow countrymen ‘Irish’ Joe Hanney, who won this race last year and Jonathon Dunne, too,” said Delaney upon arriving in New Jersey Wednesday. “And we’ve brought over a special St. Patrick’s Day rug (blanket) to give to the winner of the race. It’s great that our St. Patrick’s Day holiday is so well celebrated around the world.”

Derek Delaney and his brother James developed the Ladbroke’s Vincent Delaney Memorial after their younger brother tragically passed away in 2011. The race is for two-year-old pacers and is the richest harness horse race in all of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

“We are also here to invite everyone to come to Ireland for my brother memorial race weekend,” Derek explained, “It’s a three-day festival the likes you have never seen before. Great racing, wonderful food, bet with the bookies, classic Irish music and dancing, tours and super sightseeing of the Irish Sea and the beautiful Irish countryside and all with people with a passion for harness racing that you will never forgot.”

The St. Patrick’s Day Pace is set as the fifth race at Freehold Raceway Saturday. The eight starting Irish drivers in post-position order are:

1 – Csarda (John Sheehan)
2 – Superbo Hanover (Jim Marohn Jr.)
3 – Absolutely Michael (George Brennan)
4 – Andwin Hanover (Corey Callahan)
5 – Getontheway (Joe ‘Irish’ Hanney)
6 – Waywatcher (Jonathon Dunne)
7 – GW Gizmo (John McDermott)
8 – Air Force Grad (Robert Bresnahan Jr.)

Irish Joe Hanney was a big upset winner last year at Freehold Raceway in the St. Patrick’s Day race. He drove 60-1 longshot Real Mystical from Post 8 and paid $122.00 to win.

“I think the race this year will be pretty close,” said Hanney. “John Sheehan is going to leave pretty good to protect position. Jimmy Marohn’s horse I've been driving recently and he does not finish well but can get off the wings ok.

“My horse has been in the money lately,” Hanney said. “I hope he can step up for me. Corey Callahan is driving the best horse in the race and he done have a lot of gate speed but when he gets into the outside flow he can be dangerous. He had an off start last time out. I think he may have tied up a little. We need an early speed duel to get a chance to win.

“Winning last year's race was a very special thing for me,” Hanney added, “People might look at the race and say it's just a $6,000 claimer with a $4,000 purse and what's so special about winning that, well for me the Irish people are the most patriotic people in the world and our history and impact on America we could talk about for years.

“Then to win a race in America named after our patron saint, St. Patrick, was a great American feat for me. I was very proud. I had the outside Post 8. The trip worked out perfect, I was 60-1, and racing at my home track. Everyone in the paddock was cheering for me.

“Now I want to win again this year as much as last year and next year's race too, but I will be very happy for whomever wins it. It’s an honour to win it. Last year’s sponsors where Peter and Mary Grandich who I trained for at the time so it was good to see them in the winner’s circle.

"This year’s sponsors are the brothers Derek and James Delaney from Oakwood Stud Farm in Offaly and the Vincent Delaney Memorial held at Portmarnock. I really want to win for my Irish brothers!”

Derek Delaney and his family will be touring the USA over the next week, making appearances at Freehold, the Meadowlands, Yonkers Raceway and the Meadows. He will also be promoting race fans to come over to Ireland for the Delaney Memorial.

“We have developed this race weekend into something unique,” Delaney explains. “It’s sort of the Little Brown Jug, Hambletonian and Gold Cup & Saucer all rolled into one with an Irish twist to it!

“We will also have Hall of Famer Roger Huston coming back this year to call the races,” Delaney added, “Also returning is New Zealand Hall of Fame driver Anthony Butt and his brother, NZ’s leading trainer Tim Butt is also coming over. And a surprise Irish-America world-class driver is coming to compete too! We want to invite everyone to check out our website (vincentdelaneymemorial.com) and see what we are talking about.”

Recently Derek and James Delaney were honoured world-wide as a story on their late brothers race won the 2015 World Trotting Conference International Media Award as the best news story in harness racing.

(Steve Wolf)