Old Home Week officially kicks off on the Friday evening card at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park and the featured pace is packed with firepower.
First race post time is 7 p.m. for the 11-dash card and the WG Barbour Pace takes centre stage in race 11 for a $2,250 purse.
The top notch field of pacers is headlined by Adkins Hanover from post 4 fresh off a second-place finish to Gold Cup and Saucer trial entry Do Over Hanover. The Trevor Hicken-trained Adkins Hanover paced in 1:54.3 that night and gets the services of Kenny Arsenault again this week for owner Perry Burke of Grosse-Ile, QC.
Likely To Win rides a two-race win streak into the Friday feature with Adam Merner at the controls while Forever Paradise and driver Mike McGuigan reignite their chemistry from post 5.
The race also has a number of off-island entries with Intended Royalty (Gilles Barrieau) getting rail control with his last 11 starts seeing him finish no worse than second at Inverness Raceway in Nova Scotia. Veroi Bayama has six shipping in from the fair circuit in Quebec and gets accomplished French-Canadian driver Stephane Brosseau bring his talents to Old Home Week racing this year. It is quite possible Brosseau will make some history of his own during the next nine days as he is just seven wins short of 3,000 career victories.
KD Overdrive (Stephen Mason) gets post 2 fresh off racing at Bangor in Maine, while Distinctiv Rusty (Jason Hughes) brings his impressive streak of 1:57 miles over him home base of Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia into post 8. Eagle Jolt has post 7 with Charlottetown’s leading driver, Marc Campbell, at the lines as the driver looks to add to his 68 victories so far this season, not counting action Thursday evening.
The James Aylward Leadership Pace hits the track in race 3 with Twomacsoneshadow favoured from post 5 with Barrieau in the bike for owners Howmac Farms Ltd of North Wiltshire and Wayne MacRae of Fall River, NS.
Narragansett is the morning line choice from post 6 in the race 9 Dr. Blair Kelly Memorial, presented by the Charlottetown Veterinary Clinic. Hughes drives the eight-year-old son of Rocknroll Hanover for owner Foxyhall Racing of Wallace, NS.
Check out www.redshores.ca for live video, race programs, race replays and promotional information during all the Old Home Week action.
(Red Shores)