The battle for top gun at Red Shores' Charlottetown Driving Park is ready to heat up, quickly.
With Old Home Week just days away, the drivers and trainers are preparing for 16 cards of racing over a 10-day period.
Jason Hughes sits in the spot he likes to sit in most races, which is right on the front. With 212 drives this season in Charlottetown, Hughes has returned 47 of his charges back to the winner’s enclosure. The Stratford native is atop the driving leaderboard and his mounts have earned $55,688 so far this season at Charlottetown. The 'Blue Knight' carries a UDR of .356 at the capital city oval.
Chomping at the bit from second is Marc Campbell. He currently sits four back with 43 wins from 180 drives. Campbell holds the record for most wins in a single season at Red Shores Charlottetown with 130. The three-time defending Francis McIsaac Memorial Champion (most wins during Old Home Week) seems to bring his ‘A-game’ to the track with him each afternoon and evening during Old Home Week. The former O'Brien Award winner is batting .361 heading into Old Home Week.
The race for show is a neck-and-neck drive heading into the big week. Walter Cheverie currently sits third with 22 victories from 124 drives. Cheverie is a four-time winner of the Francis McIsaac and last won it in 2008. The veteran driver has over $28,000 earned this year and a UDR of .323 heading into Old Home Week.
A two-way tie for fourth rounds out Charlottetown's top drivers. Premier catch-driver Kenny Arsenault and Ronnie Matheson – who does most of his driving out of his son Jackie's stable – both have 21 wins apiece. Arsenault has 164 trips around the track this year and is closing in on $30,000 for this season. He is also a four-time winner of the Francis McIsaac Award (he won it in back-to-back seasons [2009 and 2010]). Matheson has only 109 drives this season, but he did pick up his 1,000th lifetime driving victory earlier this season. He carries a UDR of .333 heading into Old Home Week.
Corey MacPherson (20), Brodie MacPhee (18), Mark Bradley (15), Mike McGuigan (12) and Mike Stevenson (10) round out the top ten.
On the trainers’ side of things, the race isn't as close.
Hughes has a commanding lead with 33 victories this season. His power-packed stable has been on fire this season with horses like Say It Again Sam, Stayoutofmyaffair, Astor and Red Rock. Hughes has 152 starts this season and has hit the top three in 72 of those starts. He has a .330 UTR in Charlottetown.
Jackie Matheson is all alone in second. Last year’s winningest trainer at Charlottetown has recorded 24 wins from 143 starts. He has $32,101 in earnings this season and his stable has produced 23 second-place finishers this season.
Youngster Jonah Moase is having a career year in his third season as a trainer. Moase is currently third this season with 16 wins from only 63 starts. The 18-year-old has the highest UTR out of any trainer with more then 55 starts.
Another two-way tie rounds out the top five, and once again Arsenault finds himself in a fourth-place tie. He and Mark Bradley each have 13 winners this season at Charlottetown. Arsenault has just over 100 starts (103) while Bradley has just over 50 (55).
Darren Trainor (10), Ronnie Gass (9), Earl Watts (9) round out the top eight with a three-way tie for ninth. Joe Smallwood, Len McGuigan and Harold Shepherd each have 8.
Alpine Claiming Series To Kick Off Thursday
Teddys Place will try to fend off seven rivals in the Thursday night feature at Red Shores’ Charlottetown Driving Park.
First-race post time for the 12-dash card is 7 p.m.
In the $1,750 Race 12 finale, Mike Stevenson will sit behind Teddy Place (Post 4) for owner-trainer Thane Arsenault of Charlottetown. The nine-year-old son of Blissfull Hall has hit the board in six of his last seven starts, including a 1:57.1 victory on June 29 in Charlottetown. He will face some gritty competition, including KG Comet (to be driven by Wayne Dunn) and CL Eighty (Kenny Arsenault).
Other entries include Talk Back (Brian MacPhee), Deuce Man (Brodie MacPhee), Mr Macleod (Jason Hughes) and Pictonian Walton (Walter Cheverie).
The card also features the first leg of the $3,000 Alpine Claiming Series, which features separate splits for fillies and mares, and horses and geldings. The first of three divisions for fillies and mares will line up for Race 4 and Montreal Beauty (Dale Spence) has been installed as the morning line favourite from Post 6. The second $1,500 division will head to post for Race 6 with Whatabadgirl (Garry MacDonald) riding a two-race Ontario win streak from the outside post in the six-horse-field. The third fillies and mares split will line up for Race 9 with Machintosh (Steven Shepherd) favoured off the rail in the seven-horse field.
The two divisions for horses and geldings have been carded as Races 8 and Race 11. Race 8 has 10-year-old veteran Cam Cool (Marc Campbell) as the one to beat off a two-race win streak at Inverness Raceway in Nova Scotia. Race 11 will see seven rivals try to knock off Albert Town (Campbell) from Post 1.
To view the harness racing entries for Thursday at the CDP, click the following link: Thursday Entries – Charlottetown Driving Park.
(With files from Red Shores)