The $150,000 Camluck Classic Invitational, presented by Seelster Farms, delivered a thrilling and dramatic finish on Friday, May 30 at The Raceway at Western Fair District. In a dramatic turn of events, Ervin Hanover was declared the winner after his stablemate Brue Hanover, who crossed the wire first, was disqualified and placed third for a pylon violation in the final strides.
Brue Hanover (James MacDonald), the favourite riding a seven-race win streak, left alertly from post five and seized the early lead before yielding to Chase H Hanover (Tyler Borth) at the :27 opening quarter. Not content to sit, Brue Hanover quickly retook the front, only to face an immediate challenge from stablemate Ervin Hanover (Doug McNair), who surged to the lead before the half in a blistering :54.3.
Ervin Hanover maintained command through three-quarters in 1:22.3, with Chase H Hanover looming off cover and Brue Hanover searching for racing room. The trio thundered down the stretch in a heart-pounding three-across finish, with Brue Hanover narrowly getting his nose to the wire first — only to be placed third for a pylon infraction.
The revised order of finish handed the victory to Ervin Hanover, trained by Dave Menary and owned by Pollack Racing of Venetia, Pennsylvania. It marked the 17th career win for the five-year-old son of Captaintreacherous-Eloquent Grace, pushing his lifetime earnings just shy of the $600,000 mark.
Ervin Hanover paid $7.40 to win as the 5-2 second choice. Chase H Hanover was elevated to second, with Brue Hanover officially third.
"Both horses deserved to win. 'Brue' was loaded, 'Ervin' went a tough trip," said Menary after the race. "The other way around we were first and second and we ended up first and third here. But I'm really proud of the effort by both horses."
"I was just trying to hold my ground," said Ervin Hanover's driver, Doug McNair, of the tight finish with Brue Hanover, who lacked racing room and jumped a pylon to his inside as they hit the wire. "I mean, they're both Dave's horses and the last thing I want to do is crash [Brue Hanover's] legs and screw both of us, so I thought I held my ground and I didn't think there was enough room. I was surprised he actually did get through there, but as we watched the replay, he had to go over the last pylon to do it. But my horse raced great."
The victory was a special one for McNair, who said he had been wanting to win this race since he started driving horses 17 years ago.
"I've won a lot of great races in my career and this is honestly one of the biggest ones -- it might even be my biggest one," said McNair. "I know purse-wise it's not the biggest race in North America, but I'll tell you what, this hits home for me. I've been trying to win this race since I was 18 and I've been coming here since I was kid, so this is honestly a huge thrill for me. I didn't want to do it that way, but I'll take it."
The Menary trainees will both be pointed to the Mohawk Gold Cup with Ervin Hanover scheduled to take on more stakes engagements later this year.
The undercard featured another standout performance in the $50,000 Forest City Pace for mares. Caviar N Crackers, Canada’s hottest female pacer, dazzled in her half-mile track debut, stopping the clock in a sparkling 1:53.2. The six-race win streak continues for the five-year-old Captive Audience-Crackers Hot Shot mare, who is owned by the husband and wife, driving and training team of Ed and Ashleigh Hensley. Grit N Grace (Jody Jamieson) finished 2-1/4 lengths behind in second and the race's two-time defending champion So Much More (James MacDonald) was third.
"She handled [racing on the half-mile track] wonderful and she paced strong the whole way, never put in a step or nothing. She was perfect," said Ed Hensley.
The program also featured a quartet of $40,000 London Classic Sale Series finals along with three $25,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions for three-year-old pacing colts.
The London Classic Sale Series replaced the long-running City of London Series and was open to both Ontario-sired trotters and pacers, four year olds and younger, who were non-winners of $10,000 lifetime as of March 1, 2025.
The London Classic Sale Series winners were male trotter Seeme Zoom in 1:58.4 with J Harris driving for trainer Lacey McCabe; filly pacer Mai Tide and Bob McClure in 1:55.4 for the Ben Hollingsworth stable; filly trotter Kaylas Incharge in 1:59.1 for driver Louis Gregg and trainer Vicki Gregg; and male pacer SOS Sports Bet in 1:54.3 for driver Doug McNair and trainer Gregg McNair.
The McNairs were honoured during the program as leaders of the 2024 Ontario Sires Stakes program with the presentations of the Lampman Cup and Johnston Cup. Doug McNair edged out James MacDonald by one point for the Lampman Cup driving title while Gregg McNair took the Johnston Cup trophy for trainers with a 33-point lead over Anthony Beaton.
Friday night's Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots winners were the Carl Jamieson-trained Out Of Ice in 1:54.4 with Jody Jamieson driving for his father; Torque Delight in 1:57.2 with James MacDonald in the sulky for trainer Julie Walker; and Time Passer giving MacDonald another victory as the Dave Menary trainee inherited the 1:55.4 win when first-place finisher Rollex was relegated to second for causing interference.
Fantome En Joie and Jody Jamieson ended the evening with a 1:54 triumph in a $15,000 Preferred Pace for trainer Jacob Roberts.
The Camluck Classic card lived up to its billing, delivering high-stakes action, emotional twists and unforgettable performances under the lights at Western Fair. A large crowd took in the card despite some persistent rainfall throughout the evening. Overall handle was just shy of $800,000 for the 12-race program.
The Camluck Classic card concluded The Raceway’s live race season. The track will be dark during the summer months with racing slated to return in early October.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Western Fair Raceway.
Replays of the live streams from Western Fair and Primetime Racing are available below.
WESTERN FAIR FEED
PRIMETIME RACING SHOW
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Friday Entries || Friday Results || Program Pages || TrackIT Past Performances
(Western Fair District & Standardbred Canada)