Villefranche As etched her name in the Kawartha Downs record books on Saturday, July 5 with a front-stepping score that equaled the local mark for older trotting mares.
Kawartha Downs hosted an 11-dash card on a steamy Saturday night with a group of five conditioned trotters lined up in the penultimate race of the evening. Rail starter Walkonthemoon (Samuel Fillion) and Villefranche As (Nick Boyd) were sent off as co-favourites at 4-5, and those two launched for position early with Walkonthemoon yielding to Villefranche As.
Boyd set the tempo with Villefranche As through unaccompanied splits of :27.3, :57 and 1:25.4. Pocket-sitting Walkointhemoon angled to the outside heading out of the far turn to take a shot, but Villefranche As found another gear turning for home and pulled away for the 1:55.3 score. Walkonthemoon stayed for second with Hesohot Hanover (Doug Brown) best of the rest in third.
The time of the mile matched the mark of trotting mare Allerage Stargazer taken at Kawartha in 2019.
Now perfect in her two Peterborough area appearances, Villefranche As ($3.60) is a nine-year-old mare by Conway Hall out of Merci IT. Mark Goddard trains the 25-time winner, who lifted her earnings to $351,445, for Pennsylvanians Howard and Joshua Kaufman.
Off the track, the atmosphere was equally electric. Cheers of a different kind echoed across the grandstand as Jax, a two-year old wiener dog owned by Brenda and Devin Ceci of Trenton, bested the group of 34 wiener dogs to claim the wiener dog title. The adorable dogs each raced in one of three heats before advancing to the final, to the delight of fans and families alike, adding a dose of fun and whimsy to an already vibrant night.
The community support continued as the weekly Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society 50/50 draw winner took home a tidy $800, nearly doubling the larges winner’s pot of the season. OSAS assists in the adoption and relocation of retired and non-racing Standardbred horses within Ontario while helping to educate and assist in the retraining and management of the horses.
New Fan Features Enhancements
Fans enjoyed two exciting additions on Saturday: the elevated Winner’s Circle Deck offered a thrilling new view of the stretch drive and victory celebrations, while the expanded Family Fun Zone with picnic seating brought guests closer to the action and allowed for up-close moments with winning horses and their connections.
Carman Hie giving some young fans a thrill getting up close and personal at Kawartha Downs on July 5, 2025.
Live racing returns to Kawartha Downs on Saturday, July 12 at 6 p.m.
For the full results from the card of harness racing in Fraserville, click the following link: Saturday Results - Kawartha Downs.
(Standardbred Canada; with files from Kawartha Downs)