The red carpet will be out this weekend for horseman Peter Wrenn in Florida both off and on the track.
Preceding his induction into the Florida Hall Of Fame by the State's chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) at Sunday's banquet, Wrenn has a busy evening awaiting on the Saturday evening doubleheader program at the Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park.
Trainer Mike Deters, also being into inducted into the Florida Hall Of Fame this weekend, has named Wrenn for bike duty on nine entrants at the Isle on March 6th. In the 7:05 p.m. Saturday twi-night card, Wrenn has four drives scheduled which include a pair in the $15,000 top classes including Baseball Express in the Open Handicap Trot and Im In Luck in the Open Handicap Pace. In the 9:45 p.m. late evening card, Wrenn has five more drives scheduled for starters from the Deters outfit.
Wrenn, 47, was a dominant driver in South Florida seasonally in the latter years of the 1980's decade and at the start of the 1990's in many of the same years he was dominating the driver colony at Hazel Park in his birth state of Michigan. He's amassed more than 8,100 lifetime winning drives for almost $47 million in purses, in addition to his impressive training statistics of 943 winners to date for over $6.6 million.
In addition to Wrenn and Deters, Aime Choquette and Florida-bred pacer Swingin Glory will be inducted into the USHWA Florida Hall Of Fame at the Sunday evening function.
New Handicapping Contest
In addition to the return of Peter Wrenn, Saturday evening at the Isle will also mark the unveiling of new handicapping contest.
On-track patrons can fill out a free entry form each Saturday evening with their selections for a horse to 'hit the board' (finish in the top three) in nine consecutive races, starting in the 3rd race of the 7:05 p.m. EST card. Based on the 'last man standing' and 'survivor' concept, handicappers remaining in contention with successful selections will share in $500 cash at the conclusion of the 3rd race of the 9:45 p.m. late evening program.
The contest will be conducted at the Isle for all four of the Saturday evening doubleheader programs in the month of March.
Clements Milestone Imminent
With a victory in the final race on March 3rd program with claiming pacer Royal Flush Shark, driver Dan Clements has crept to within $2,000 of the $13 million plateau in lifetime earnings.
Clements marked his 46th birthday in late January. The winner of almost 1,900 races in the bike has been competing in the South Florida driving colony seasonally for almost two decades. In the Summer months he returns home to Ontario where his seasonal work is focused on driving at Georgian Downs and Grand River Raceway.
(Pompano Park)