HOT CORNER: Governor’s Plate filled with history

The 50th anniversary edition of the Governor's Plate goes in Summerside on Saturday night, and – as usual – it will be a great race.
The Plate carries a record purse of $25,000, and there is $80,000 in purse money on the line for the 16 races, which begin at 6:30 p.m. Big purse money, a large crowd and great weather will make for a great evening of harness racing on Summerside's big night.

Click here for story with drivers in Governor's Plate 50:

A look back at the past 49 years brings back some great memories since a horse named Kim Ash won the very first Governor's Plate in 1969 for driver Art Porter. Porter won the Gold Cup and Saucer that same year with Firebolt, and the Governor's Plate in 1970, also with Firebolt.
There have only been four horses that have won this great race twice, including John The Third, Winners Accolade, Outlawpositivecharg and DG's Camme.

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In the early years, times were common around the 2:04 or 2:05 range with the region’s best horses. When one considers that times today are 10 to 12 seconds faster, that is quite a change.
Winners Accolade paced P.E.I.'s first sub-two-minute mile in the 1984 Governor's Plate, stopping the clock in 1:59:2. That prompted the late Bob Dewar, who was running Summerside Raceway at the time, to get down on his hands and knees and kiss the track.
Now, almost 35 years later, the region’s best horses are pacing in the 1:53, 1:54 range.
If memory serves me right, the purse for this race in 1969 was $2,500. Now 50 years later it is $25,000. A lot has changed since the early days of this race, and time has allowed the prestige of winning it to build year by year.
It is a big race to win, and winning the 50th will be extra special for the connections of Saturday’s winner. Good luck to all on Summerside's big night!

Golf tournament

Another big event happening in Summerside is the annual Summerside Boys and Girls Club celebrity golf tournament that starts on Sunday. It is one of the biggest – if not the biggest –on the celebrity circuit.
This year, the event is spread out over three days to accommodate all the teams.
The dinner goes at Credit Union Place on Monday night, and a couple of very special trophies will be there as well. The Clarence Campbell Bowl, as well as the Jack Adams Trophy, will be in the house.
The Campbell Bowl is for winning the NHL's Western Conference championship, and the Jack Adams Trophy is the NHL coach of the year award, won by Summerside native Gerard (Turk) Gallant and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Some of the celebrities will include former Boston Bruin greats Rick Middleton, Gerry Cheevers and Johnny Bucyk. It will be a fun three days for all associated with this big event.

Click here for Vance Cameron's column on Governor's Plate:

Baseball
Most baseball fans in Canada are fans of the American League, home of the Toronto Blue Jays. This is not the year of the Jays – and for most American League teams.
With the season just past the halfway point, only five or six teams have a realistic chance at the reaching the post-season. Only five teams make it, and two of those are wild-card berths.
The standings show that Boston, Cleveland and Houston are the division leaders, with New York and Seattle as the wild-card teams. Oakland has an outside chance as a wild-card team, but the first five teams mentioned are clearly the five best in the American League.
The lack of pennant races will likely lead to a buyers’ market heading to the July 31st trade deadline. Non-contending teams, including Toronto, will be sellers. With so many teams in the same situation, the returns for players will not be as great.
The Yankees and Red Sox have a two-team race going in the East Division, and both are considered as favourites to land Manny Machado before the deadline. Machado is a free agent at season’s end, and is likely to be traded by Baltimore in the next couple of weeks. He is one of the best in the game, and will be a difference maker for any contender.
Have a great week!

Joe MacIntyre is a Summerside resident. His column appears every Saturday. Comments and suggestions can be sent to [email protected].