Shane Bernard was crowned the winner of the annual driver’s championship and received the E.F. Acorn Memorial trophy Sunday afternoon on Horseperson’s Day at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park
. He had a career day in the bike with five victories. Ron Matheson received the runner-up trophy presented by Ron MacKinley, Minister of Fisheries and Rural Development. The event was sponsored by the Prince Edward Island Horse Owners Association (PEISHOA).
Matheson got the eight-race competition rolling with a win aboard Now Whos Laughing for Gary Poulton and Gail MacDonald of Charlottetown, but it was Bernard who held the lead with 35 points at the halfway point after scoring wins with Pictonian Walton in Race 4 and FF Stena in Race 5. Marc Campbell, who continues to chase the all-time win record at Charlottetown, sat second with 31 points while Matheson was third with 30.
But it was Bernard who started the back-half of the competition with another win when he edged out Road Hammer and Danny MacDonald for a hat-trick with Wealth Of Nations for Alexis Gass of Cornwall. Campbell took the sixth leg with Le Fugueur in a sparkling 1:56.4. Bernard continued to dominate in the seventh leg with his fourth winner of the day when guided Hutchinson Hanover to a 2:00 score. That victory sealed the championship, but the veteran pilot added one more for good measure sending Life Savior off the gate to win in 1:59.3.
Here is a look at the final leaderboard from the annual driver's championship:
Shane Bernard – 70
Ron Matheson – 59
Mark Bradley – 55
Kenny Arsenault – 54
Marc Campbell – 52
Corey MacPherson – 49
Danny MacDonald – 45
Joey Pineau – 32
(Point system: 1st - 10, 2nd – 9, 3rd – 8, 4th - 7, 5th - 6, 6th - 5, 7th – 4, 8th - 3)
Roscoes Child chased down the leader to win the Sunday feature in an exciting 1:57.2 for driver Ken Murphy and the Selkirk Stable of Belfast. Oakrock Almighty was second with fraction-setter Carnivore finishing third.
Campbell, who won three races on Saturday, recorded another driving triple on the Sunday card. The magic number to break the all-time win record at Charlottetown is now down to four. Paul MacDonald set the record in 1987 with 118 victories.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(With files from Red Shores)