CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Live racing returns to Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park (CDP) tonight as the Island track will be the first oval in the nation to host live harness racing since March. The Red Shores broadcast team will be back with Race Day airing at 5:30 p.m. Atlantic at redshores.ca.
First race post time is 6 p.m. for the 10-dash card with the $2,900 featured fillies and mares open pace lining up in Race 9 for a much-anticipated matchup between newcomers.
A field of top-class mares will tussle in the featured race, including Mike McGuigan-driven Berazzled, who moves into the Jonah Moase stable of Warren Grove after a private purchase by his father Neal Moase during the winter. The mare had been racing at Yonkers Raceway in New York and will leave from Post 2 as the morning-line favourite, fresh off an 11-length romp in 1:56.1 in her qualifier.
Dreamfair Zenfire also turned in an impressive qualifier in her first charted line on the East Coast as trainer Marc Campbell steered her to a 1:57.3 going away victory Saturday over a muddy CDP track with a two-second variant. Ryan and Everett MacLeod of Souris own the four-year-old daughter of Sunfire Blue Chip, who comes into the race riding a two-race win streak from the Ontario racing circuit. She will leave from Post 6.
Much Adoo has the respect of third choice on the morning line but will be saddled with Post 7 for trainer Ron Matheson and owner Rollwithitharry Racing of Marshfield. Brodie MacPhee will be in the bike behind the Dover Downs ship-in. Tonight will mark the return to the driving ranks for the 34-year-old MacPhee, a former top driver on P.E.I., who has not driven in a pari-mutuel race since August 2014.
Other entries in the Race 9 fillies and mares open are Collective Wisdom (Ron Matheson), newcomer Southwind Ion (Jason Hughes), Woodmere Chella (David Dowling) and Private Di (Kenny Arsenault).
The fillies and mares back-up class is in the Race 10 finale carrying a $2,400 purse with Miss Kabana making her Island debut from Post 3 with Vincent Poulton in the bike for co-owner and trainer Gary Poulton and fellow Charlottetown owners Gail MacDonald and Trevor Warren. The Marc Three miss has been racing the claiming ranks at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario. Other top entries are Arc Light (Campbell) from Post 6 and Tell Me Why (Corey MacPherson) from Post 5.
The lone trot of the evening hits the track in Race 5 with Osprey Delta favoured with rail control in the $1,750 class for owner-trainer-driver Paul Larrabee of Belle River. The Tad The Stud five-year-old last raced at Plainridge Park in Massachusetts for trainer Mike Stevenson.
Customers on P.E.I. will be able to watch and wager on the product through Horse Player Interactive. It is free to join at hpibet.com. Other customers and fans around the globe will have access through betting platforms on the season opener.
Shores feature races will be available on Proline all summer long.
– Compiled by Nicholas Oakes for Red Shores.
