Harness Racing’s Best Rivalries

Back in 1986 The Charlottetown Driving Park(Red Shores)held a match race between three of the top horses in the Maritimes, Winner's Accolade, Waveore, and Angels Shadow. The purse was small but the owners were keen to see who would come out on top between the three. It was called the Battle of Champions and turned out to be a great race with Waveore on top in a Maritime track record time of 1.56.4 an unbelievable mile on the old hub-railed 1/2 mile race track of the day. There was a large crowd which produced a large wager and brought many new faces to the track. THe promotion cost very little but the media attention was significant and brought increased wagering and attendance to this little venue.

Pee Wee will remember...Early 70's....Invitational purses had reached $5,000..Old Greenwood,5 horse fields,Vern Goodale and Cap Martin vs Cecil Pollard, and Cabonga Bert, 10 lenghts in front of the rest of the field,parking each other, can't remember just how many weeks this went on for, but it was CLASSIC.

Who can forget Staying Together's dominating rivalry over Bilateral. Not sure if Bilateral ever beat Staying Together. Those 2 were a stone cold exactor.

How about Shaidy Daisy (Ron Pierce) and Swing Back (Kelly Sheppard) in the Breeders Crown at Mohawk. Inches separated them all the way down the stretch with swing Back nosing out her rival.

Can't recall the year(s)......maybe the mid 70's(?), but I do remember Miami Beach (Wes Coke) and Connecticut Glove (Billy Hicks) battling it out on many Saturdays at Greenwood. Great racing back in the day!!

Thanks Norm
you are so right, how could I forget Trojan Leo and Happy Hoot. I'll even throw in a name that doesn't get much mention but was great Advance Attack. He was often a part of the mix as well. And how can we forget Take A Look butting heads with Topnotcher on many occasions. Also Out of Ketcup trying to take down No Sex Please.
Man those were the good old days when racing was just great. That's what used to make it so much fun. Going down to Greenwood on a cold winter day, watching the horses up close, so close in fact that you could touch them. Trembling in the cold air with a coffee in one hand and a program in the other and then running inside before the lines got too long to make your bet. In those days the track was alive and it was a fun time being there with the usual people watching at your usual spot from a televesion hanging off the ceiling.
I really believe technology to a large degree has ruined the sport. It used to be fun lining up to bet, getting to know the tellers at each window, asking people in line who they liked.
Now, the tellers are all gone replaced by SAM machines. Nobody goes to the track anymore since you can now bet at off track theatres and the internet.
In an effort to make itself more available I believe the industry has committed suicide. No matter how much you can bet from at home on a computer or at a theatre you can never really become a fan of the sport until you actually go the track and get to see the horses up front and shoot the breze with the drivers as they walked by you. It's not the same anymore. Those days are gone but they were by far the best.

I would agree with Jason Hughes and Danny MacDonald. I was fortunate enough to see some of the races in the Maritimes back in the mid 1980's, and Winner's Accolade was known as "The Maritime Pacing Machine". He had won virtually every big race in that region, and then Waveore and Angels Shadow came along. I've seen a lot of excellent horse racing over the years, but it would be very hard to top that. There were a few other horses who tried to beat him, like Heels Lad, Special Class and so on, but it was really just the three of them that were very dominant, and only Waveore and Angel's Shadow could really be considered his competition. Definitely the best races I've ever seen, and I've been to some big ones.

Joe Riga, you forgot to add Trojan Leo and Happy Hoot to that mix. One rivalry that never happened due to a season long injury but i believe would have been a great one in 1983, Cam Fella dominated, but "WHAT IF" Willow Wiper who was outstanding in 1982, and made a good comeback early in 1984 would have been able to race in 1983? He was as talented as Cam, and had the same heart as Cam. Cam Fella would still have been the better of the two, but I would have to think Willow Wiper would have interrupted the 28 straight more than once.

Well I can remember bill gale J.W.BARBARA and Richard Carrolls good invitational pacer going at week after week at Windsor and Hazel park and wolverine, and of course JEFF James and calvin outlaws two great pacers going at each other week after week, at the time there was no better racing anywhere in the us and canada and of course each week someone from canada and other states would bring in a monster and make shambles of our horses, like TOWN DRUNK WITH VERN CRANK,BUT THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON AND I am sure people of that day and age could remember more as i can also, what a time to watch these animals and drivers only wish they were here now,

Billy O mentioned one of my favourite rivalries - Mack Lobell and Napolitano - But I think the best I ever watched was Bret Hanover and Adios Vic. Adios Vic was a pretty decent racehorse that just happened along in the wrong year and made a career of chasing Bret Hanover!

The battles (many moons ago) between Armbro Turk, Banker Fretz,Baron Reve, Blizzard Almahurst and Noble Hill GB were legendary. Loved watching those iron horses duke it out week after week. That's when the Free For All was a true Free for All.
Some nice battles between Moni Maker, Magician and Fools Goal as well.

Shipps Dream vs. AJs Image in the Invite was a great battle one winter at Greenwood. Whoever drew inside was the winner as neither could leave much and there was no getting by either of them when they turned for home. That was a back and forth battle that sticks in my mind.

You have to be a certain age, but the year long rivalry between Most Happy Fella, Columbia George, and occasionally Truluck, was epic.
Their three year old year was a classic