Racing returns to Saint John on Saturday afternoon with a number of events including the prestigious Milton Downey Memorial Pace.
Slated for race seven on the eight-dash program, the field for the $2,500 Downey Memorial features six pacers with Walter Dale Memorial winner Skippy drawing the rail for driver Mark Haig and owner Harold DeFazio.
Gilles Barrieau, at time of this writing was just five wins shy of his 4,000th career driving victory, will be in the sulky behind American Terror (PP2), a winner of seven races this year and hailing from the powerful Ed Harvey stable.
Young Michael Folkins will send out the veteran pacer Rocknroll Band from Post 3 for catch-driver Todd Trites. That one lines up beside the iron-sided pacer J Rs Hurricane for Jean Charles Belliveau of Scouduc, N.B. He has been a tough competitor over the past couple of years on the New Brunswick circuit and has drawn the services of the capable Lonny Stokes.
Ed Harvey's second entry in the field leaves from Post 5 as Ed will handle the driving chores of the steady pacer Darth Bader.
Rounding out the Downey Memorial is Coral Snake for co-owner Luke Armstrong. Luke captured his first-ever driving victory with the pacer during Old Home Week and makes his first top-class drive. He shares the ownership with his father Rick.
Saturday also will feature the Maritimer, co-sponsored by Standardbred Canada and the NBSBOA, for three-year-old pacing fillies. Each of the five-filly divisions will be raced for a purse of $6,501, and the top four fillies from each division will advance to the $8,668 second heat, which will be contested later on the program.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at EPR, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Exhibition Park Raceway.
(with files from HRNB)