Preferred pacer Bee Two Bee and the streaking Elm Grove Mistress headlined a special New Year’s Eve program at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park while season's records were set by trainer Jennifer Doyle and driver Marc Campbell.
Bee Two Bee was a 4-5 winner in the featured $4,600 Preferred Pace in a 1:55.3 clocking with Jason Hughes driving for trainer Ashley Gamester and owners Donald MacRae and Blair MacLauchlan. The seven-year-old son of Sunshine Beach-Bee Fullof Steinam earned his eighth win of the season from 30 starts as he defeated No Plan Intended by 1-3/4 lengths with Blood Money third.
Hughes, Gamester and MacRae also teamed up to capture the $3,650 top trot of the evening with Fight Song scoring in 1:59.4 at 2-5 odds. The five-year-old Kadabra-Fortunes Of Fables gelding earned his third straight victory.
Hughes also won with the Todd Weatherbee-trained three-year-old pacing filly Czarspieceofheaven in 2:02.4 at 12-1 odds for the driving triple.
Elm Grove Mistress won her eighth race in a row, scoring in 2:01.4 at 2-5 odds, with David Dowling driving to give trainer Jennifer Doyle her 113th win on Prince Edward Island in 2024, putting her in a tie for the all-time record with Marc Campbell. Doyle also set the record for most wins ever solely at Red Shores Charlottetown as she won her second straight training title with 97 victories. Ron Matheson was second with 64 wins and Jeff Holmes was third with 55.
Marc Campbell won his 15th straight driving title in Charlottetown with 171 wins, ahead of Dowling with 129 winners and Gilles Barrieau with 95. Campbell’s pursuit of the first ever Atlantic Canadian million-dollar season fell $1,298 short as he finished the year at $998,702 in prize money, eclipsing Corey MacPherson’s former record of $781,573 set in 2023.
The Sports Desk etched his name as the final winner on P.E.I. in 2024. Barrieau steered the three-year-old son of Sportswriter-Lady Critic to a 1:59.2 win at 5-1 odds for trainer Matheson and owners Joseph Dahl and Jack Keenan in the race 14 finale.
Barrieau tripled up on the evening, also winning with Miramichi Alanna in 2:01 at 3-1 odds for trainer Holmes and Here Comes Emmett in the New Year’s Eve Pace in 2:00.4 at 2-1 odds for trainer Melvin Gamester.
Live harness racing continues on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 12:30 p.m. at Red Shores Charlottetown.
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(With files from Red Shores; Photo of Bee Two Bee winning on Dec. 31)