Standardbred racing in Alberta shifts to the Edmonton metropolitan area for the balance of 2020, as Century Mile raises the curtain on its seven-week fall meeting on Sunday (Nov. 15).
This weekend's programs — which are slated for Sunday and Monday (Nov. 16) — open the curtain on a 14-night meeting at Century Mile, which will then continue with programs on Saturday and Sunday evenings through the end of 2020, as well as a special New Year's Eve (Thursday, Dec. 31) card. First post time for the opening weekend card is 6:15 p.m. MST.
Sunday night is headlined by a $9,000 optional claiming / open pace, which is carded as the fourth of eight races on the docket. Outlaw Gunsablazin, a winner in two of his last five starts, has drawn the outside post 6 and been installed the 9-5 morning line favourite off a 1:54.2 win in his Nov. 3 curtain call at Century Downs. As usual, Jamie Gray will drive the four-year-old Blue Burner gelding, who is one of two starters in the opening night feature for trainer Rod Starkewski.
Crackle N Burn, who held off a late charge from his stablemate to win a Century Downs Open event on Oct. 6 and just missed him by a half length on Nov. 3, will line up in post 4 as the 3-1 second choice with Phil Giesbrecht at the helm.
Fillies and mares take centre stage in the Monday (Nov. 16) headliner, with a field of eight slated to spar in a $9,000 optional claiming / open pace carded as the fifth of nine races. Mrs Suhwiggins, who seeks her third consecutive win over top-level Alberta company, has been assigned the outside post in the field of eight. The four-year-old daughter of Custard The Dragon most recently delivered a 4-1/4-length drubbing to Stash The Cookies (post 1, Mike Hennessy) on Nov. 3 at Century Downs. Trainer Mike Campbell has retained the services of driver Kelly Hoerdt for the 16-time winner.
Miss Itunes, who has been a stalwart in the Alberta Sires Stakes program with four wins and three runner-up finishes in seven stakes starts this season, leads the field with $71,852 in seasonal earnings to date. The three-year-old daughter of Mystery Chase enters off a strong 2-3/4-length win over high conditioned company, and will start from post 4 with Nathan Sobey at the helm for trainer David Lamont.
To view the weekend's entries and program pages (courtesy TrackIT), click the links below:
• Sunday: Entries | Program Pages
• Monday: Entries | Program Pages
Harness racing's biggest day
Harness racing's biggest day of the year in Alberta, Canada will take place on Nov. 29, when the finals of both The Don Byrne Memorial and The Western Canada Pacing Derby will take place.