Truro Raceway's defending driving champion Todd Trites reined home a trio of winners on Opening Day of the new harness racing season.
Trites, who won 50 races to lead all drivers at the Truro racetrack in 2017, swept the final three races on Friday evening's (April 27) season opener.
Trites earned his first win of the meet in the fifth race with the front-stepping 14-year-old veteran pacer Beach Fighter A, a 31-time career winner currently trained by Donald Ellis and owned by Debbie Ellis.
He then guided Dawn Ellis Abbott's 10-year-old pacer Goliath Reigns to a neck decision in the top $1,675 Winners Over class. The Goliath Bayama gelding prevailed off a pocket trip in 1:59.3 ahead of Heart And Soul and Catch Twenty Two, with the popular pacesetter Weather Hanover finishing fourth.
Owned by Dr. James Shive and trained by Trevin Shive, three-year-old Sportswriter son P H Hippie then blew away the competition in the finale, winning by 13-1/2 lengths in 1:59.2 with Trites in tow.
Trainer/driver Bernard McCallum took the honours of winning the meet's first race with Brookdale Jim for breeders Douglas R. Polley and Douglas E. Polley, and he ended the day with a double.
Another 14-year-old winner on Friday's card was Montreal Phil, who notched his 70th career victory. Darren Crowe trains and drives the Blissfull Hall gelding, who races for Dawn Ellis Abbott and Jeff Ellis.
Live racing resumes at Truro Raceway next Friday, May 4.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Truro Raceway.