Marc Campbell built a commanding lead with a natural grand slam and held on to win the Atlantic Regional Driving Championship (ARDC) on Wednesday, June 24 at Summerside Raceway.
He and second-place finisher Keith Legge will complete the lineup for the 2026 National Driving Championship (NDC) to be held at Clinton Raceway in Clinton, Ont. on Sunday, July 26.
Campbell was off to an inauspicious start after a sixth-placed-seventh finish in the contest opener after Zendayasfancypants broke stride on the first turn. But the 2014 NDC runner-up reeled off four consecutive wins in ARDC races two through five, starting with a gate-to-wire score behind Timberlea Lady ($11.30) in the second round. He took the standings lead in the third leg with Shadows Terror ($2.30), who also cut the mile, then rallied Love Party ($2.50) to victory in an action-packed fourth ARDC tilt. Campbell took his fourth win as favoured Brookdale Layton ($2.40) grabbed control coming off the first turn and proved a strong pacesetter in the fifth round.
Fourth-year driver Keith Legge, who won the first round and had piled up points with strong results while Campbell was on his tear, then scored in leg six to stay within touching distance heading into his bye round. With the leader finishing sixth in the penultimate contest, Legge was in need of a win in the finale to catch Campbell, who was on a bye, but he finished fifth and locked up second place.
Marc Campbell (second from right) accepts his commemorative NDC ticket from (L-R) Standardbred Canada Directors Jamie Ramsay, Lee Drake and Bruce Wood.
Campbell, nicknamed the “King of Island Harness Racing,” won the ARDC for the first time since 2014. In 2025, the perennial leading reinsman at Charlottetown Driving Park became the first driver in history to reach $1 million earnings in a year while racing in Atlantic Canada. He is riding high into next month’s NDC with a seasonal win rate of 31 per cent from 48 victories in 155 starts. Campbell, a winner of more than 3,600 races and $10.1 million lifetime, will aim to win the national competition and join James MacDonald in representing Canada at the 2027 World Driving Championship.
For Campbell, victory was the target.
"If you're not first, you're last," joked Campbell to Trot Insider while on his way back home. "I did want to win. I would have settled for second, but I really wanted to win the whole thing. I knew I had some shots, but I also knew I had some outside shots, and it was nice to execute with the chances I had."
Keith Legge’s second-place performance added another highlight to his young career. The Truro, N.S native won the Silver division of the Nova Scotia Amateur Racing Championship in 2022 and was named Truro Raceway’s 2023 Rookie Driver of the Year in his first pari-mutuel season. Legge captured the Nova Scotia leg of the Gamester-Pinkney Memorial Drivers Challenge in 2024 and earned his first track driving title in 2025 when he led the standings at Truro. He took home awards as the top driver over 100 starts and highest-percentage driver at the track’s awards ceremony. On Wednesday, the reinsman won the opener with 4-5 favourite Redland Precious ($3.90), who made two moves to the top and was clear well clear at the line, and the sixth race with Mr Harris ($18.80) as that gelding caught a loose leader on the final turn and held off a late closer for the victory. Legge also had a second, third, fourth and fifth in his seven contest races. Following the Wednesday double, he is 52-for-360 lifetime with $99,723 in earnings.
Marc Campbell (second from right) and Keith Legge (centre) receive their NDC tickets from (L-R) Standardbred Canada Directors Jamie Ramsay, Lee Drake and Bruce Wood.
The ARDC was the last of four Regional Driving Championships. Campbell and Legge will compete for the NDC trophy with Ontario Regional champion Tyler Borth and runner-up Jody Jamieson, Western Regional champion Phil Giesbrecht and runner-up Kelly Hoerdt, along with Quebec/Eastern Ontario Regional champion Nick Boyd and runner-up Stephane Brosseau.
ARDC Final Point Totals:
Marc Campbell - 61
Keith Legge - 53
Paul Langille - 38
Corey MacPherson - 37
Mark Pezzarello - 35
Michael Downey - 35
Zach Mullins - 30
Gilles Barrieau - 23
Here is how the action unfolded through Wednesday evening's eight ARDC contest races.
ARDC Leg 1:
Keith Legge cashed in with 4-5 favourite Redland Precious ($3.90) in the first ARDC race, taking no chances in a confident front-end drive. He had the sophomore Tom Weatherbie-trained Somewhere Fancy-Isthatyou Ardella filly in front as the wings folded and gained a cushion as the rail starter broke stride, forcing the rest of the field wide on the first turn. Longshot Highly Toxic (Gilles Barrieau) nonetheless persisted with her outside drive to take a short-lived lead, with Redland Precious regaining control before the second turn. There were no further threats to the leader, who peeled away from the rest on the second trip down the backstretch and cruised home to a dominant victory in 1:59.4. Gias Gem (Michael Downey) swept to second with a third-quarter move and took the place spot over Highly Toxic, who was third.
ARDC Leg 2:
Timberlea Lady ($11.30) dominated the second leg with a gate-to-wire victory in line to Marc Campbell. The five-year-old Pang Shui-Duchess Killean mare, trained by Jaycob Sweet, powered out of post five to take command entering the opening turn and was never threatened, kicking away from her rivals turning for home on the way to a blowout score in 1:58. Downey entered a tie for the lead via a second straight place finish behind James Reigns. Anniemosity finished third to give Paul Langille a strong start to the contest following the driver's first-round bye. Legge, who finished fourth in the second event, is level with Downey for the lead on 18 points.
ARDC Leg 3:
Marc Campbell struck the front with another pacesetting effort, this time behind Leonard Myers's six-year-old Shadow Play-Cyber Terror gelding Shadows Terror ($2.30). He kept the 1-9 chalk on the rim entering the first turn and worked him to the lead going past the quarter. After a moderate second panel, Campbell upped the tempo when pressured by First Glance (Gilles Barrieau) down the backside, and Shadows Terror rebuffed that challenge and neutralized Starship Destiny (Paul Langille) down the lane to prevail in 1:57.1. Acrobat Hanover (Corey MacPherson) was third. Campbell now leads with 29 points, eight clear of Legge.
ARDC Leg 4:
Love Party ($2.50) emerged victorious from a third-quarter throwdown to complete a natural hat trick for Marc Campbell in the fourth contest event. The 1-5 choice mobilized from sixth heading towards the stands and advanced behind Marc It Up (Zach Mullins), who cleared on the backstretch but was immediately challenged by Love Party, starting a battle to the final turn. Woodmere Heather M (Keith Legge) joined the fray three-wide and pursued Love Party as that Kyle Marchbank trainee cleared to the top on the bend. She stayed game but made little headway down the lane as Love Party scored in 1:58. Marc It Up rolled home third. Campbell's win with the five-year-old Stag Party-Two Sides Of Love mare extended his advantage over Legge to 13.
ARDC Leg 5:
Grand slam for Campbell. Brookdale Layton ($2.40), the 1-5 favourite, vaulted to the lead coming off the first turn, set solid middle fractions, and was home in time to score over the motoring Rollwithitdarling (Paul Langille). Pocket-sitter Bettim Alive (Keith Legge) was unable to fend off the place finisher but was a clear third. The winner, a four-year-old Hes Watching-Brookdale Shadow gelding trained by Phil Sizer, stopped the clock in 1:56.2 to pad Campbell's cushion to 21 points. Legge remained second on 36.
ARDC Leg 6:
Keith Legge dealt a blow to Marc Campbell's lead as Mr Harris ($18.80) chased down loose leader Howmac Fancy to take round six. Mr Harris had the pocket early behind Howmac Fancy but lost touch with the leader as Paul Langille looked to bottom out the field. Legge called on the Earl Watts-trained Mr Harris to march on the pacesetter down the backstretch, and the three-year-old Rollwithitharry-Catchajolt gelding was alongside him at three-quarters. Mr Harris slogged past a resilient Howmac Fancy down the lane, then resisted the closing Elm Grove Untamed (Zach Mullins) to prevail in 1:59.1. Howmac Fancy hung on for third. Campbell remained in front but had his edge reduced to nine points.
ARDC Race 7:
Mark Pezzarello ended the Campbell-Legge dominance as he scored with Doc Awesome ($70.80), the longest shot on the board, in the $6,250 Preferred Pace as rain drizzled the Summerside oval. The Darla MacEachern-trained Doc Awesome had a front-row seat to the early action, sitting fourth behind three different leaders before three-eighths. He was flushed out from fourth as the field made its third turn, and Doc Awesome fired ahead and blew past prior leader Sure Thing Captain (Zach Mullins) as they approached the homeward bend. The six-year-old gelded son of All Bets Off-Direct Macawesome extended his margin turning for home and held off a re-rallying Sure Thing Captain to win in 1:55. House Edge Hanover (Paul Langille) finished third. Campbell, finishing sixth, added two points to his lead, leaving Legge in need of a win in the final round in which Campbell is on a bye.
ARDC Leg 8:
A wire-to-wire victory by 1-9 favourite Howmac Exclusive ($2.30) and Corey MacPherson closed out the competition. The five-year-old son of Source Of Pride-Howmac Impeccable surged out of post three in a speedy first quarter, caught a breather to the half, then accelerated to three-quarters and handily resisted Melody Maker (Mark Pezzarello) down the lane to complete the 1:55.4 victory for trainer Leslie Waite. Braxtons Boy (Gilles Barrieau) came home third off a three-hole trip. Legge moved Elm Grove Talia first-over in front of the stands but was unable to fish out cover and finished fifth. Marc Campbell, on a bye in the finale, finished first with 61 points.
To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Summerside Raceway.
A replay of the ARDC from Summerside Raceway is available below.
(Standardbred Canada)