Harness racing returned to New Brunswick on Saturday (May 4) as Exhibition Park Raceway hosted its first card of the season.
Father Ofthe Year was one of the best performers on the grounds in 2018 and picked up right where he left off with a solid gate-to-wire winning performance in the featured race of the card. Mike Downey sent the six-year-old to the front in the $1,500 Winners Over class and took no prisoners en route to victory by three parts of a length in 2:02.3 over the track rated good and assessed a three-second allowance by the APRHC judges. Stablemate City Of The Year (Dr. Mitch Downey) took an earnest shot at the favourite late in the mile but settled for the runner-up spot with Bugger Max (Mark Haig) completing the triactor.
Father Ofthe Year (Royal Mattjesty - Shes Determined) picked up his 13th career win for Dr. Mitch Downey of Saint John, N.B.
Matching Father Ofthe Year for the fastest mile time of the day was his stablemate Union Man Hanover, who trounced his rivals by more than seven lengths in the $1,300 Michael Fillmore Memorial. Mitch Downey was aboard the 10-year-old son of Artiscape for the pacer's 40th career victory, giving trainer Ellen Stevenson a pair of wins to complete the card.
After a ten-year hiatus, driver John Davidson returned to the sulky and made an impact on the toteboard. With four drives, the Saint John resident picked up a pair of wins along with a third-place finish to conclude the day with a 0.583 driving average.
For the full charted results from Saturday's card at Exhibition Park, click the following link: Saturday Results - Exhibition Park.