Hanover Raceway played host to a special exhibition race of trotters under saddle Saturday night. The event, organized by newly formed "RUS Ontario" was a big hit with the crowd and showed off the versatility of the Standardbred horse.
The race was won by Sixth Man and was that horse’s third in a row after winning in the race bike in his last two starts in Hanover. Sharleen MacDonald of Paisley, Ont. was the winning rider, competing for the first time with Sixth Man under saddle.
After the race, she said it was very special to win the race under saddle and she hoped that it would continue to gain support in the coming months ahead.
Hanover Raceway also dished out their monthly driver and trainer awards, with prizes from Brucelandair. J. Harris of Dundas, Ont. was the top driver for the month of June with 12 wins and a UDR of 0.464. Harris picked up two wins on Saturday night with Yo Gaba Gaba and In Dinos Pocket.
Larry Fitzsimmons took home trainer of the month honours as he had three wins in six starts, with his other three starters all finishing in the money during June. Fitzsimmons finished the month of June with a 0.648 trainer’s rating. Fitzsimmons raced Stoney Durkin in the night’s seventh race and finished third.
Race seven was also the Spinal Cord Injury Ontario Pace and was won by Lawmen Reign and Ross Battin. The win was the six-year-old Rambaran son’s 14th career score and there was a special blanket presentation with the group from Spinal Cord Injury Ontario.
Hanover Raceway returns with live racing next Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. It will be the final time fans can qualify for the Survivor contest finale. Fans who pick four horses in a row, who all finish in the money will have a chance to compete for three great prizes on July 20 courtesy of Country 93 Radio. First prize is a 58-inch high definition television.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following links: Harness Racing Results / Trotting Under Saddle Results
(Hanover Raceway)