After making the return to the racetrack in 2018 at the age of 10, pacing stallion Rollwithitharry will soon return to the races again in 2019 but will do so with a bevy of new owners supporting a charitable cause.
Bruce Wood of Woodmere Farms is offering ownership shares of Rollwithitharry for the 2019 season of harness racing. The proceeds of the $60 shares will go to the Harness the Hope fundraiser in support of breast cancer, slated for Saturday, July 27 at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
Wood bought Rollwithitharry in 2015 as a stallion prospect for P.E.I. Noting that the stallion would race cars and trucks up and down the farm's driveway, Wood thought a return to the track might be what 'Harry' needed.
"We just thought it would be good for his mental health for him just to go back to the track and get a little extra TLC which they do a great job of in the stables there and get bathed every day and that kind of stuff," Wood told CBC. "And so he really, really got engaged when he got back there and we weren't sure how it was going to go, but it ended up being a bit of fun."
Winning five races over the 2018-2019 season in PEI, Rollwithitharry showed no signs of slowing down and thus plans were made to bring him back this year.
Wood expects to see the veteran racehorse in action next month, and with him will be a number of new owners. According to Wood, about 70 shares in 'Harry' have been sold already with more owners welcome. Wood, who himself lost a sister and brother-in-law to cancer, noted that a number of the new fractional owners are sharing stories of why they're choosing to support the cause in this manner.
"There's a lot of them that have a nice story to them," he said. "We weren't anticipating that and that's been a great bonus for us to hear."