Century Mile’s inaugural meet of live harness racing kicked off last weekend in Edmonton, Alberta, much to the delight of fans, horsepeople, and provincial racing officials.
Additionally, add Kelly Hoerdt to the list of horsepeople that are thrilled. The horseman recently discussed the track surface itself with Curtis Stock. Hoerdt couldn’t be happier.
In terms of the racing surface itself, Hoerdt said, “It’s great. There were no complaints from anybody. Just praise. All the drivers like it. It’s easy on horses, so the horses will be sounder and you won’t see as much soreness. At the right time of the year I can see them break the 1:50 barrier. The track is that good. With it’s big, wide, sweeping turns it doesn’t even feel like you are in a turn. It’s the best track west of Ontario.”
Hoerdt said he was glad to see the ‘Magic Man’ Ron Grift at Century Mile to oversee the change from the Thoroughbred to a harness surface. “Ron has set up the track to a surface that Northlands used to have back in our hey days. It’s very similar to that and that was great. “I’m very excited about being here. Our future is brighter.”
The two big stakes races at Century Mile are the Western Canada Pacing Derby and the Don Byrne Memorial. Both will take place on September 15. Both are races that will feature an estimated purse of $130,000. The Derby and Don Byrne action will get going this coming weekend with elimination races on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 7).
Hoerdt has three horses aimed at the Derby. “My best shot is Kneedeep N Custard,” he said of the Brad Gunn stakes winner who set a three-year-old gelding track record of 1:52.1 at Calgary’s Century Downs in the process. “I’ll also have Night Stick. We got him at the Meadowlands in January. He showed a lot of promise, but he wasn’t getting around the track very well at Century Downs,” he said of the three-year-old who hasn’t raced since June. “I just qualified him on Monday.”
The third horse is Go Nine O. “He had a super two-year-old season. He’s had some good starts this year, but we’ve also had some issues with him. He’ll need things to go his way.”
For the Don Byrne Memorial, Hoerdt has Flash A Smile, who is now three-for-three in Alberta after having been purchased in Ontario six weeks ago, and Good Day Is Coming, who finished third this past Sunday in what Hoerdt described as “a terrific mile.”
Hoerdt has a busy schedule coming up. “We’ll be splitting up the stable when the races in B.C. start up on September 19. I’ll race half the stable here and half the stable in B.C.,” said Hoerdt who will be building up his 'Air Miles' flying back and forth. “I did it last year, too. It’s a hectic schedule, but I’ve got to do it while I’m still young,” smiled Hoerdt, who is 53.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Century Mile, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Century Mile.
(Courtesy Curtis Stock/thehorses.com)