There was no stopping driver Mark MacDonald on Tuesday evening at Grand River Raceway, as the two-time O’Brien Award winner captured half the dashes during
the 12-race program.
MacDonald was shut out in the first two races, but things really snowballed from that point on. His first trip to victory lane came in Race 3 behind the Alvin Bowman-trained Full Circle Patty (1:59.1). He returned to the winner’s circle in Race 5 with race favourite Mcartlee (1:57), who capitalized on some class relief for trainer Vic Puddy.
Best By Far (1:58) earned MacDonald the hat trick thanks to his neck decision in Race 7. He also clicked with Tres Noel (1:57.4) in Race 8 and Warrawee Kiwi (1:58) in Race 9.
The six-bagger was completed in Race 11 as a result of a wire-to-wire tally with Bigmizndrstnding (1:54.1) in the $10,500 feature race. The five-year-old son of No Pan Intended, who is owned by MacDonald, Tracy Brainard and Andrew Herzog, sprinted away to win by more than two lengths for trainer Shawn Robinson.
MacDonald’s six-win performance at the Elora, Ontario half-miler helped him open up a big lead in the standings among Grand River Raceway’s leading pilots. His win total climbed to 17 thanks to the productive night at the office, and that puts him 10 wins ahead of J.R. Plante, who holds down the number two spot in the standings with seven victories.
To view Tuesday’s results, click here.