Two Nova Scotia native sons who are both Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame members will be returning to their home province to be part of Truro Raceway’s Remembering Sackville Downs Day being planned at the Bible Hill oval for Sunday, Sept. 15.
Driver Bill O’Donnell, affectionately known as the “Magic Man” in his driving career, will be on-site doing meet and greets and signing autographs for fans. The native of Springhill, N.S. has strong family connections to Sackville Downs, with his father and uncle having both raced at the oval. O’Donnell obtained his drivers licence at the former oval, before moving to the U.S. O’Donnell had a storied driving career, with more than 5,700 victories and purse earnings exceeding $99 million. He also won more than 200 major stakes titles that included the Little Brown Jug twice, the Hambletonian and 12 Breeders Crowns, and he piloted the first sub-1:50 mile in the history of the sport with the incomparable Nihilator in 1985, with a 1:49.3 record. O'Donnell was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1986.
Trainer/driver Carl Jamieson will be returning to Nova Scotia to be part of the day and sign autographs for fans. Born in Pugwash and raised in Wallace, N.S., Jamieson was a regular driver at the former Sackville Downs before going onto have incredible success in Ontario. Jamieson has more than 1,300 driving wins and $7.1 million in purse earnings, and as a trainer, he has more than 1,000 wins and $27.2 million in earnings. He has multiple O’Brien Awards to his credit and a victory in the Gold Cup and Saucer with 2006 winner Banner Yankee. Jamieson was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2013.
Another special guest will be former Sackville Downs track announcer Clary Flemming, who was Sackville’s track announcer from 1961-1970 and will be part of the Truro Raceway broadcast. He will also call a special race with all former Sackville Downs drivers, which will feature Jamieson and a field of other former Sackville drivers.
Truro Raceway will present a historical display in the grandstand of artifacts and items from Sackville Downs, produce a special commemorative program and host a silent auction and charity fundraiser to honour former Sackville Downs owner Jack Cruickshank. Cruickshank started a program called the “Turkey Club” to help feed those in need. In his memory, the track will donate all proceeds to the Truro and Sackville Food Banks.
Fans can also sponsor a cooler presentation that day to honour someone special that was connected to Sackville Downs, donate a silent auction item or place a program advertisement, with all proceeds going to the two charities, by contacting Truro Raceway General Manager Steve Fitzsimmons at 902-956-0024 or [email protected].
Truro Raceway's 2024 season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, May 19.
(With files from Truro Raceway)