While the lustre of a pacing a sub-1:58 mile has faded, in certain circles the feat is still a big deal. It's an even bigger deal when that mile comes on a surface that's on par with fair racing with a 14-year-old driver in the sulky.
On August 3, Pinette Raceway -- part of the Prince Edward Island Matinee Racetrack Development Program circuit -- held its annual Kilted Pace card. On that card, Austin Sorrie paced his name into the Maritime record books aboard pacing mare Onehotvett.
"She was supposed to race at Summerside the day before and she didn't get in," Sorrie told Trot Insider. Sorrie noted that his father Wade, the trainer of Onehotvett, is stabled at Pinette so she was entered in the matinee races just to keep her sharp.
With Austin at the lines, Onehotvett sped to a win in 1:57.2. While these races are not official charted miles, the mile time is believed to be the fastest mile ever recorded for a driver of his age.
Not impacting the time of the mile was the fact that Sorrie was indeed wearing a kilt, in honour of the local Highland Games.
Austin Sorrie and Onehotvett in the 2014 Kilted Pace (Frankie L Photo)
"It hurt the legs a lot," noted Sorrie of the bare-legged driving. With that said, he said he's do it again in a heartbeat.
Sorrie started driving in 2013 on the Matinee circuit. He was named Rookie of the Year by the PEI Matinee Racetrack Development program. This year he's a regular on the circuit, hitting every one of the stops he can.
With 10 cards in total and around six or seven races per card, Sorrie will be getting himself a wealth of driving experience before he's able to apply to become a fully licensed driver at the age of 18. He's one of a few teenagers cutting teeth on the matinee tracks, and that lack of young competition worries Sorrie.
"There's a few of them now, but it's starting to slow down," said Sorrie, noting that there are three drivers of his age currently competing and he'd like to see more. Given that the cards take place on weekends, competing doesn't interfere with school.
Drivers the likes of Mark MacDonald, Marc Campbell and Corey MacPherson have cut their teeth on the matinee tracks. Sorrie looks to horsemen like Campbell and another O'Brien Award winner, Gilles Barrieau, as role models for what he'd like to be when he gets older.
As for where this mile ranks in terms of a Canadian record, the time coincidentally matches the time of a mile paced in Ontario at Dundalk Fair in 2002. While drivers are supposed to be 16 to drive at the tracks in Ontario, one 12-year-old pilot managed to etch his name into the Dundalk record books with a 1:57.2 mile aboard pacer Big Town Albert.
The driver, now an O'Brien Award finalist with more than 2,000 wins under his belt, was Doug McNair.
Not bad company for Austin Sorrie.