Stoney Durkin ($10.90) established a new track record at Leamington Raceway on Sunday, pacing the mile in 1:57.2.
Mark Williams sent the five-year-old Whosurboy gelding to the front and made every post a winning one, hitting the half in :58.2 and pacing home in :59 seconds flat. Breeder Larry Fitzsimmons trains and shares ownership of Stoney Durkin with William Durkin of Sparta, Ont.
The track record was overshadowed by the performance of Donnie Rankin, who won six of the 10 races on the afternoon card.
Rankin started the day with three in a row, including his own Jet Black ($3.40) in 2:00.3, Danny William ($13.30) in 1:59.4 for owner Kevin Gillis of Windsor, Ont., and back with his own Hoo Rah ($2.90) in 2:04.2. He also won back-to-back races with Brother John ($2.80) in 2:00.1 and Keaton ($2.80) in 1:58.2 for Windsor's George Robinson and took the finale with his own pacer Memory In Motion ($3.90) in 1:59.4.
Next week, Rankin puts his announcing skills to the test, as he attempts to show how easy it is to call a harness race.
Leamington would like to extend a special thank you to the Ontario Harness Horse Association for their "jog a horse" program, where kids and adults alike get to experience what it is like to perform on the track.
Racing continues for the next five weekends at Leamington with post times Saturday and Sunday 1:30 p.m.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Leamington Raceway.
(With files from Leamington Raceway)