Cloud of grief hangs over PEI Community
Live harness racing on PEI is getting busier now as we move closer to the summer months. Charlottetown has already added its Thursday night racing to the weekly schedule and the Summerside Raceway opens for the 2017 season on Monday afternoon with its annual Victoria Day program.
At Charlottetown, the top class for pacers has belonged to Adkins Hanover the past two Saturdays. On the May 6 card, the 8-year-old son of Western Ideal destroyed the field with a 13 length romp in 1:56.2 over an off track. This past Saturday was a much closer contest, but Adkins Hanover and driver Corey MacPherson prevailed once again with a three quarter length victory in 1:55.3 over top contender Mr. Irresistable. Trevor Hicken trains Adkins Hanover for owner Perry Burke of Grosse-Ile, Quebec.
Marc Campbell had a driving triple on Saturday and continues to pad his lead in the dash wins for drivers category. He appears to be headed for another title at the Driving Park. Campbell is rolling along with a near .500 driving percentage also. The driving averages are comparable to a baseball player’s batting average, so imagine a .500 hitter in this instance. Two of Campbell’s three winners on Saturday are 3-year-old pacers he trains as well. Veteran trainer/driver Earl Smith had a pair of wins with his own trainees as well, Oceanview Beemer and Elm Grove Kaboom.
The Trot Handicap on Saturday night went to Holy Molie Maggie and driver Gary Chappell. Trevor MacDonald of Vernon Bridge and Jeff Holmes of Orwell are the owners, Holmes does the training. The Thursday night card was highlighted by driving doubles for three drivers, Kenny Murphy, Gary Chappell and Marc Campbell. Trainer Earl Watts had a pair of winners as well. The Big Bite won the featured pace for trainer Thane Arsenault and driver Kenny Arsenault.
Two huge losses occurred in the Island harness racing community during the past two weeks with the deaths of George ‘Butch’ Ward and Shelley Gass. Ward was the longtime paddock judge at the Charlottetown Driving Park who continued in that role into his late 70s, until his health would no longer allow him to do it. I think it’s safe to say the Driving Park never had anyone do a better job than Butch Ward at keeping things running smoothly in the paddock, and he was a friend to all involved. To Gussie and Tim, and brothers Mike and Paul, my deepest condolences. I’ll miss the chats with Butch.
Shelley Gass was without a doubt the most dedicated and most friendly ambassador Island harness racing has ever had. She was a fixture to harness racing on the east coast of Canada throughout her life. Her disability never slowed her down one bit and her heart and toughness was that of a champion race horse. This one hurts for many on PEI and no more so than the crew at the Dusty Lane Farms operation in Cornwall. To Ronnie, Dianne, Stephen and Alexis, I’m so sorry for this tremendous loss.
By Shane Bernard
Reprinted with permission of the peicanada.com site
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