On the afternoon card of harness racing that many had believed earlier this week could be the last ever at Truro Raceway, one young horseman celebrated his first training and driving victory.
Truro resident Mark Whidden, 25, earned his first career win in the eighth race with SF Razamatazz going wire-to-wire in 1:59. The favourite prevailed by two and three-quarter lengths over Winner Panic and Emmons MacKay while Sarahs Daphne and Carl Isenor rounded out the top three finishers.
Whidden shares ownership of the seven-year-old pacer with Barry Whidden and Ellsworth Atkinson of Truro, and Bruce McGrath of Calgary.
David MacDonald's Toad Road rallied wide to win the afternoon's feature in 1:58 for trainer/driver Darren Crowe. The five-year-old pacer won by three and a half lengths over a from-last Rave On and Kenneth Parker Jr. Third went to Neigh Monster and Robert Laffin.
Weird Albert completed a late Crowe Daily Double to close out the card, scoring in 2:00.3 for trainer Nick White. The 12-year-old veteran is owned by Devin O'Connor of New Glasgow, N.S. Crowe and White also teamed up to win the sixth race earlier in the day with Steve Morton's seven-year-old pacer Hutchinson Hanover in 2:01.4.
Fans poured into the track for the Sunday program after news broke Wednesday that the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition had decided to discontinue live racing and simulcasting at Truro Raceway due to finances. However, a group of racing participants and MLA Lenore Zann met with the NSPE on Friday in an effort to keep harness racing alive at the track. A follow-up meeting is slated for early next week and at that time a proposal could be agreed upon that would give Truro Raceway a future beyond 2013.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Truro Raceway.