It wasn’t officially charted and it wasn’t officially timed, but a 21-year-old amateur track record was broken Sunday, October 27 at the St. John’s Racing & Entertainment Centre in the Goulds, Newfoundland.
The record was broken during the track’s annual ‘Matinee Day,’ which sees grooms and drivers switch duties during a compact, unofficial day of racing. Matinee Day, which is to accommodate young, up-and-coming grooms, has been taking place annually at the raceway since it opened 51 years ago.
Scott Forward told Trot Insider that the annual card of racing features non-wagering dashes that are contested without purse money. He said that the races have allowed drivers to learn some of the tricks of the trade.
On Sunday, Oral Jestican, a soon to be 24-year-old resident of St. John’s, climbed into the race bike for the record-breaking mile. The track’s previous amateur mark was recorded in 1992 by Garry Merner Jr., who had clicked off a 2:03 mile with Hodgins Hanover mare Gabby Angel.
Jestican, who was at the lines of recent Preferred winner Inspired Art on Sunday, didn’t just shade the amateur record, but lowered it by a full second, thus re-setting the track’s amateur standard to 2:02.
Inspired Art is trained by Forward for Elizabeth Courtney of Maddox Cove, Newfoundland.
Am I reading this correctly?
Am I reading this correctly? This is not charted, so anyone betting on these horses in their next PM start will be unaware of their accomplishments. What ever happened to "protecting the betting public"?