Vernon Downs will open its 64th season on Friday evening (May 5) with a nine-race card.
Five fillies and mares will compete in the featured eighth race for a purse of $7,300. Tempus Seelster, a four-year-old mare, has been installed as the 6-5 morning line favourite. Trained by Tony Dinges, the Big Jim mare set a lifetime mark of 1:51.2 at Vernon Downs last season. Chris Lems will hold the reins of the nine-time winner from post position five. The veteran seven-year-old Purple N Gold (post position four) is the 5-2 morning line second choice. Trained and driven by John MacDonald, the Hot Pans mare has won 24 races and earned over $150,000 in her career. Rounding out the field are American Dancer (Truman Gale, post one), Bad Night Mare (Matthew Adamczyk, post two) and Looney Dune (Ben McNeil, post three).
The first leg of the Robert E. Keller Trotting Series will serve as the Opening Night sub-feature, carded as race two. The 6-5 morning line favourite is three-year-old filly Anja. Trained by David Dewhurst and driven by Chris Lems, the Credit Winner filly is looking for her third win in her last four starts. She won her last start at Saratoga, setting a lifetime mark of 1:59. Her main competition comes from the three-horse entry of trainer Michael Miller. The trio of Railroad Lane, Fred Mertz, and American JJ have been installed as the 5-2 second choice.
Post time for Opening Night is 6:45 p.m. Calendars and T-shirts will be given out, and fireworks will follow the evening’s last race.
(With files from Vernon Downs)