The 60th anniversary season of harness racing at Hanover Raceway will begin on Saturday, June 1 with a 10-race afternoon program starting at 1:30 p.m.
The program will feature the Prospect Series for Ontario-sired three-year-old pacing colts, with a pair of $8,000 divisions carded as races two and six. Bettors Rush, a Prospect division winner two starts back on May 15 at Western Fair Raceway, is the 8-5 morning line favourite in the first field of a half dozen, drawing the inside post with Travis Henry listed to drive for trainer Blake MacIntosh. Another MacIntosh trainee, Macwow, also drew the inside post for the second split but the 7-5 early favourite in that race is the outside starter from the Katie MacNeil stable, Ballykeel Painter, a 1:56.4 winner last time out on May 24 against $20,000 claimers at Western Fair who will have Daryl Thiessen back in the bike.
The Hanover, Ont. half-mile oval will host three more Prospect Series legs this season in addition to a leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series. Other highlights of the meet will include the track's signature Balanced Image and Dream Of Glory trotting stakes.
Cassidy Schneider, Hanover Raceway's top trainer last year, will have two chances in the afternoon's ninth race to launch the new season on a winning note as she sends out Derby Dylan and Just Call Me Pete in the five-horse field of $8,000 claiming pacers. Canada's 2023 Future Star Award winner earned nine of her 83 wins last year at Hanover Raceway to top the local standings.
For the 2024 meet, Hanover Raceway will host 15 Saturday race dates running through Sept. 14, with the exception of Aug. 10. Post time will be 1:30 p.m. for all programs except for a 5:30 p.m. program on Aug. 3.
To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click one of the following links: Hanover Raceway - Saturday Entries || Saturday Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
(Standardbred Canada)