Dresden Raceway kicked off its 2020 season of live Standardbred racing on Sunday, June 7 with a 10-race program. Although spectators were not in attendance, fans watching remotely were surely happy to have racing back at the cherished half-mile oval.
The program featured a pair of conditioned races that carried $4,800 purses, each of which took place during the back half of the card.
Sunday's races were contested over a 'fast' track that was rated one second slow by the presiding judges.
Driver Marc St. Louis notched one of his four afternoon victories in Race 8, which was the first of the $4,800 dashes. St. Louis was in the bike behind the Dan Wells-trained Donavan Z Tam, and the duo got away fourth before they committed to a first-over grind early in the second quarter. They remained on the outside throughout most of the mile, but did take the opportunity to draft behind race leader Bayonet (driven by Garrett Rooney) for a bit during the third quarter of the mile. St. Louis pulled the pocket in the final quarter and came on for the victory, which returned $14.90 for every successful $2 win wager. Mills, of Wallaceburg, Ont., also owns Donavan Z Tam, who is a four-year-old gelded son of Hes Gorgeous.
The second of the $4,800 dashes went postward as Race 10, and it was the Lorne House-trained and driven Cullen Keefe N ($4.10) who raced well as the public's even-money choice. The 10-year-old son of Christian Cullen went to the top early from Post 4 and wasn't headed in the mile, en route to his 15th career victory. The bay horse is owned by Samuel Taylor of Lucan, Ont., and he increased his career bankroll to $84,315 with the victory.
St. Louis recorded four wins during the card, while Tyler Borth notched three victories. Garrett Rooney also steered two winners during the card.
The silence was deafening on the day, as you could hear every hoof beat and every chirp from the drivers with no crowd at the usually boisterous facility.
St. Louis said it was nice to be back at Dresden, adding, “We’ve been away too long. It feels good to be doing what we love again."
The handle was down from last year’s opening day. The total handle -- all which came from off-track -- was $20,607.
“Our handle will be much higher next week,” Dresden Raceway Announcer/PR man Gary Patterson said. “We have a great product with some awesome trainers and great drivers. I promise our handle will be much better next week.”
To view the harness racing results for Sunday at Dresden, click the following link: Sunday Results - Dresden Raceway.
(With files from Dresden Raceway)