The 2024 harness racing season at Nova Scotia's Inverness Raceway kicked off on Sunday afternoon, May 26.
Fresh off winning the Atlantic Regional Driving Championship last night on Prince Edward Island, driver Redmond Doucet returned to his home track and opened the Inverness season with a victory.
Doucet, who clinched his spot in the National Driving Championship by winning the last two legs of the Atlantic Regional, carried his winning momentum into the first race at Inverness, with Nova Scotia newcomer Dear Birdie defeating early leaders Jgsjumanji and Sue Warrior in 2:02.1. The favoured four-year-old Betting Line mare, who won her season's debut, is trained by Brian MacInnis and owned by Irish Rd Stables of Port Hood, N.S.
Doucet is Inverness Raceway's defending driving champion, coming off a 35-win season at the half-mile track.
Driver Danny Gillis and Sunshine Lou (pictured above) wrapped up the afternoon's six-race opening day program, taking the featured $2,000 Winners Over top pacing class ahead of the Doucet-driven Windemere Best Man, Inverness Raceway's 2023 Horse of the Year.
Sunshine Lou was a wire-to-wire winner as the odds-on favourite, leading half a dozen pacers through panels of :30.2, 1:01.1 and 1:30.1 en route to the 1:59.4 score. Windemere Best Man moved first-up into a gaping pocket down the backstretch and followed the winner 1-1/4 lengths behind with Windmeredontmatter completing the top three finish order.
Making his first start of the year, Sunshine Lou earned his 20th career win. The locally owned eight-year-old Sunshine Beach gelding, who put together a record reading 6-5-4 from 23 starts in 2023, is campaigned by trainer Raymond 'Junior' MacKinnon and his wife Leah.
Live harness racing will resume at Inverness Raceway next Sunday, June 2 and most Sunday afternoons with post time at 1 p.m. in June, September and October. Wednesday evenings will be added to the racing schedule in July and August, except for Old Home Week.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Inverness Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)