This Saturday night, Kawartha Downs is introducing a new Invitational Trot named in honour of one of the most talented horses to ever step onto the Fraserville, Ont. racetrack, Goodtimes.

Now 24 and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the trotter raced for nine years, earning $2.2 million and then spent many years following his retirement from racing as a goodwill ambassador for harness racing.

Goodtimes was developed, trained and co-owned by John Bax, a member of the Peterborough Sports Hall of Fame, who raced horses from his Peterborough, Ont. base for 30 years before moving to Campbellville earlier this year, which is where Goodtimes now lives. The horse happily resides in a lush field with a handful of other horses including $1.7 million winner Define The World.

At his age, it’s too far for Goodtimes to make the trip to Peterborough on Saturday, but the track wanted him to be a part of the festivities in his honour, so they created posters and travelled to Campbellville to have Goodtimes sign them (with a hoof print). Fans will receive one of these posters for free and will also have the opportunity to have it signed by John Bax as well as the Goodtimes’ regular driver, Dave Wall, another member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

The Woodbine Entertainment Group honoured Goodtimes several years ago by introducing a major stakes race called the Goodtimes. That race, usually held on North America Cup night, is for three-year-old trotting colts, while Kawartha’s version is an Invitational.

Saturday night’s field includes many local performers vying for the $10,000 purse. The favourite will likely be Keystone Wyatt who comes into the race riding a three-race winning streak. The six-year-old son of Cantab Hall is from the mare Womanly Image whose sire, Balanced Image, also sired Goodtimes. In addition, she was bred by Glengate Farm of Campbellville, the farm Bax purchased and where Goodtimes now lives.

The field for the Goodtimes Trot appears below.

1 – Coco Bino
2 – Remsheg Julian
3 – Waldorf Hall
4 – Rose Run Oriana
5 – Justasmalltowngirl
6 – Ken Kan Win
7 – Ramas Last Son
8 – Keystone Wyatt
9 – Excuse Me Please

Kawartha Downs will be having a Facebook contest all week with trivia questions all surrounding Goodtimes. First-race post time Saturday is 7 p.m.

To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Kawartha, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Kawartha Downs.

(Kawartha Downs)