Two Nova Scotia racetracks will raise the curtain on their 2021 season this weekend, while another welcomes harness racing back after its opening day was followed abruptly by an eight-week intermission.
The kickoff to the season in Cape Breton comes on Saturday (June 19), as Northside Downs will host a nine-dash card after 65 horses were dropped into the entry box. Post time for the season-opening program is 1 p.m. Atlantic.
A new addition to the overnight sheet is the Fillies and Mares Open, with a competitive group of five distaff pacers slated to compete in the afternoon's second race. Kiss Me Im Irish (Mark Pezzarello) tussled with the best in Atlantic Canada during her sophomore season and concluded her three-year-old year racing against the top class at Northside. The Bob MacNeil trainee returned on June 12 in a qualifier and finished an unstressed fourth, but behind the four-year-old rival that leaves to her inside on Saturday, Elm Grove Ocean (Angus Bates).
Six older pacers will head postward in the winners-over feature, carded as Saturday's penultimate dash. Four of those pacers are very familiar to fans of racing in Cape Breton with multiple victories in this class over the past few seasons. The inside three — Accelerator (Greg Sparling), Runaway Mystery (Harold LeBlanc) and Southwind Ricardo (Gerard Kennedy) — all look to factor in the proceedings with Jonnie Jack (Ryan Campbell) returning for his four-year-old season. Newcomers to this group include former Alberta campaigner Thunder Alley (Adam Lynk), and Jetster (Jamie Struthers), who makes his Cape Breton debut after racing on Prince Edward Island.
Northside Downs is slated to host 25 cards of harness racing this season, with a predominantly Saturday afternoon schedule complimented by a handful of special holiday cards.
On Sunday (June 20), the action shifts to Truro Raceway and Inverness Raceway, with 114 horses slated to compete in a combined 17 races between the two facilities.
The 11-race Truro program, which begins at 1 p.m. Atlantic, is headed by a $2,000 winners-over — and four of its six entrants competed in the Opening Day feature, back on April 25. Imalookertoo, who campaigns for trainer-driver Danny Romo, will look to bridge the forced eight-week layoff with back-to-back wins, having rallied off cover to take the season's first top-class event in 1:57. The 10-time winner, owned by Bob Sumarah, has been established as the 5-2 morning line favourite, and will begin from post 5. Dont Ask Logan (Mary Clare MacDonald) similarly deserves due attention, given his first-over grind into the lead in his seasonal debut before Imalookertoo eclipsed him off the home turn. The George Rennison trainee will start from the outside post six. Brutusthebarbarian (Darren Crowe) and American Risk (Paul Langille) also raced in the season's first and only winners-over event to date, and will be joined by Ontario invader Harry G (Ernie Laffin) and Prince Edward Island invader Young Drunk Punk (Bernard McCallum).
The season at Truro will continue through December, with racing on a mix of Sunday afternoons and Friday evenings.
A six-race card at Inverness Raceway is also slated for a 1 p.m. start, featuring a compact field of five in the season's first winners-over pacing feature.
Intended Royalty, a major standout at Truro Raceway last year, kicks off his 10-year-old season off a 1:59 qualifying win at Inverness last Sunday. The 49-time winner campaigns for Randy and Ed Copley, and usual driver Redmond Doucet handles the lines behind the No Pan Intended gelding, who will start from post 4. He has been installed the 5-2 morning line favourite off the strength of a 14-win season which included the Nova Scotia Governor's Cup at Northside and four top-level overnights at Truro. Daddy Let Me Drive, who concluded 2020 with two top-level wins at Truro, presents the strongest challenge, starting from the pole in line to Rodney Gillis for owner-trainer Donald Beaton.
The race season at Inverness is slated to continue into early Autumn, with racing offered primarily on Sunday afternoons.
To view this weekend's entries, or for program pages (courtesy TrackIT), click the links below:
• Saturday, Northside Downs: Entries | Program Pages
• Sunday, Truro Raceway: Entries | Program Pages
• Sunday, Inverness Raceway: Entries | Program Pages