Fans will return to Clinton Raceway this Sunday (July 4), and driver Doug McNair, who will steer two starters in the three-year-old trotting filly Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions and one of the favourites in the $58,300 Kin Pace Final, is thrilled that there will be a crowd for the Huron County oval’s signature event.
“Clinton always has a big fan base. It’s a small place where they get a good crowd, and it’s a lot more exciting when you’ve got fans in the stands, that’s for sure,” said McNair. “It feels like qualifiers when there’s no fans; it just doesn’t feel the same.”
McNair, who currently leads all drivers in Canada in earnings, will make his first start on Sunday’s card with A Blue Blood, who gets post 4 in the second $21,450 three-year-old trotting filly Grassroots division (race 5). The filly heads into the race off a couple of errant trips, but McNair likes her chances in the Grassroots season opener.
“She’s come back pretty good, a lot better than she was last year, I think,” said the Guelph, Ont., resident. “She’s a little tricky. Sometimes she’s a little tricky in the turns, but hopefully they’ll put some snug hopples on her to get around that track, because she’s talented enough.”
The driver’s father, Gregg McNair of Guelph, trains A Blue Blood for Matthew and Roy Trelford of Mildmay, Ont. Last season, the daughter of Muscle Mass recorded a pair of seconds in Ontario Sires Stakes action and earned enough points to qualify for the Grassroots post season. Through five sophomore starts, A Blue Blood has a pair of wins and a pair of violations for traveling inside the pylons — an outcome McNair will be looking to avoid on Sunday.
In the fourth and final Grassroots split (race 9), McNair returns to the bike behind Rubys Are Nice. The pair competed primarily at the Gold Series level last season and McNair expects the filly’s speed will work in her favour on Sunday:
“I drove her last year and she was real fast last year. She’s usually decent off the gate and stuff, obviously a lot tighter turns that she’s going to be going around, but I think she’ll handle them. She doesn’t have to go to the gate a hundred miles an hour.”
Rubys Are Nice will start from post 6, and McNair said the outer half of the starting gate can be an advantage for a young trotter.
“That’s the perfect spot for a young green trotter, or I think any kind of trotter, on the smaller tracks. That way, when you go into the turn, you’re swooping into the turn instead of heading straight left when you get there,” McNair explained. “They don’t have to be quite as good gaited if they’ve got the middle or the outside of the gate.”
Rockwood, Ont., resident Rob Fellows trains Rubys Are Nice for owner-breeders Blair and Erna Corbeil of Beaumont, Alta. The Muscle Mass filly heads into Sunday’s test off a 1:56.4 victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park on June 24.
McNair will wrap up his stakes drives behind A Better Game in the Kin Pace Final. The pair sprinted home to a 1:56.4 victory in their elimination last weekend, and McNair expects Clinton fans will send the Betterthancheddar daughter to the starting gate as their top choice in the 10th race:
“I think she’s definitely the one to beat. Last week I didn’t know what to expect from her, but she got around them turns perfect and she still had the plugs in at the wire, so I think she’s got a real big shot this weekend as long as she behaves,” said the driver, who will send the filly after the lion’s share of the $58,300 purse from post 5. “I think she can win off either trip. She can win on the front or from behind, obviously she showed that last week. We’ve just got to hope we get some luck, that’s all.”
A Better Game qualified but did not race as a two-year-old. Since making her racing debut in April, she has tallied three wins and one second in eight starts, taking a 1:52.3 personal best at Woodbine Mohawk Park on June 15 for trainer Blake MacIntosh of St. George, Ont., and his co-owners John Nizlek of Danbury, Conn., and Ridgeway Racing of Ridgeway, Ont.
“She’s a lot more sure of herself and she’s got a lot of pace right now,” said McNair, who has driven three previous winners of the Kin Pace. “I’m kind of really high on her for this weekend. I’m just hoping it goes all right, that’s all.”
Clinton Raceway sends its first race behind the starting gate at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, with the three-year-old trotting fillies making their Grassroots debuts in races 3, 5, 8 and 9 and the Kin Pace going postward in race 10.
The number of spectators welcome to attend the event in person is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, please visit this link.
To view Sunday's complete entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries – Clinton Raceway.
(Ontario Sires Stakes)