A meeting will be held Friday, December 5 to begin committee work for the PEI Colt Stakes' 75th anniversary program planned for 2009.
All past participants in the PEI Colt Stakes that are able to provide support are invited to attend the meeting, which will take place at the Farm Centre in Charlottetown beginning at 7.30 p.m.
The PEI Colt Stakes executive, led by president John Clarey, has proposed an ambitious program of events to mark this important anniversary of what is the oldest established stakes program in Canada still in operation.
The events will start on May 15, the date of the first meeting of the original PEI Harness Racing Club held in Summerside. A fundraising dinner, which will include a stallion fee auction and a silent auction, will be held on that same date in Summerside. Also featured at the opening dinner will be the release of a historical review of the past 75 years of Colt stakes racing in the form of a book compiled by longtime managing director Norman Hall, as well as the unveiling of a traveling exhibit of memorabilia and artifacts that will be displayed at various locations throughout PEI during the summer months. A recreation of the first organization meeting, using the original recorded minutes, is also being considered as part of the evening’s entertainment.
During the summer months, the PEI Colt Stakes, along with co-sponsors Pedigree Matching Globetrotter and Shurgain Feeds, will reprise the successful Globetrotter Goodwill Racing Series at the Island’s matinee tracks. The series will be expanded to include all matinee tracks on PEI and possibly see matinee-style programs at both pari-mutuel tracks in Charlottetown and Summerside during their big weeks of Old Home Week and Lobster Carnival, respectively. Pinette Raceway will be the venue for the Series final in early September. Matinee racing was the grassroots of colt racing back in the 1930s when most official races were for aged racehorses.
The 2009 version of the PEI Colt Stakes races is planned for Charlottetown from September 17-20 and as many as 25 separate divisions are expected to take to the track over three race programs. The first Colt Stakes races took place in Charlottetown on September 20, 1934, and a recreation of the two races that made up that event may be attempted on the Sunday, September 20 anniversary race event. The celebration will wind up later that day with The Presidents’ dinner on Sunday evening at the Top Of The Park at the Charlottetown track. This will be an occasion to thank the many volunteers and sponsors expected to support individual races or other aspects of the anniversary, as well as to honour many of the individuals, equine and human, that have participated over the past 75 years. Driving and training stars such as Joe O’Brien, Wally Hennessey, Mike MacDonald, Carl Jamieson and many others won PEI Colt Stakes races early in their careers. Stakes record holders, like the undefeated Maple Leaf Noble, will also be recognized.
President Clarey noted, “the anniversary year ahead should prove to be a time of remembrance and coming together that will strengthen the bonds that keep Prince Edward Island and Maritime harness racing at the forefront of the sport in North America. It will also re-enforce a reputation for providing the sport with quality horse people and horses that can compete and win anywhere.”
(PEI Colt Stakes)