Hanover Raceway entered the 2020 harness racing season with a shift to an afternoon post time in hopes that the half-miler could gain some additional exposure in a less crowded time slot. The results show that customers were most certainly more aware.
In the track's 2019 opener on the evening of Saturday, June 1, Hanover Raceway handled just shy of $31,000 over an 11-race card.
The 2020 opener more than doubled that handle with one less race. Over a 10-race card, Hanover handled $67,818 for its Saturday (June 6) card of racing.
One of the notable appearances of the day came from driver Doug McNair, who picked up a hat-trick of wins on the card before leaving to drive on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Two of McNair's wins came aboard Patrick Shepherd trainees Destiny Cruise (in a dead-heat with W C Kenzie Cookie) and Pinecone Pete, with the third courtesy Grandpe Knows Best.
"I haven’t been up there in four or five years," McNair told Trot Insider on Saturday. "Patrick and my dad were putting horses in so I figured I would take advantage of the 2:00 pm post. I've always loved racing in Hanover as the atmosphere is usually pumping. Obviously today it was a little different."
McNair and Bruce Richardson each engineered three winning drives on the afternoon, while trainers Shepherd and Kyle Bossence each sent out two winners.
Hanover Raceway hosts live harness racing every Saturday through to the middle of September.
To view the results from Hanover's 2020 opener, click the following link: Saturday Results - Hanover Raceway.