Dave Kelly kicked off the 2024 Fall-Winter meet at Century Mile in style, notching his 1,000th career driving victory in the final dash of the Saturday, Sept. 21 card.
Kelly needed three wins to reach the milestone, and was shut out through the first eight races on the 12-race slate. He found the winner's circle in the ninth with Show Stop (1:54.1; $7.90), the 11th with Bud Neigh Kid (1:57.3; $4.60) and then hit the 1,000 win mark courtesy a gutsy gate-to-wire tally from Handsome Dan (1:55.1; $12.80), who appeared to be collared by his stablemate Matts A Mystician (Nathan Sobey) in deep stretch but fought back to provide his pilot with the milestone score.
The Future Star winner at the 2019 O'Brien Awards and runner-up in the 2022 National Driving Championship at Century Mile, Kelly sports 1,000 wins and more than $6.2 million in earnings as a driver. His best season in the sulky came in 2022 when the Nova Scotia native posted 215 wins and more than $1.46 million in purse earnings.
Century Mile will host live harness racing on Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 21 and on New Year's Eve. First post time will be 7:30 p.m. except for this coming Saturday, Sept. 28, as the track will host a special afternoon card to prepare for the 2024 ASHA Yearling Sale on Sunday, Sept. 29.
To view Saturday's results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Mile.
(Standardbred Canada)