CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A field of eight drivers will vie for the Paul MacDonald Memorial Trophy on Horse Person’s Day Saturday at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 11-dash card gets underway at 12:30 p.m., featuring the MacDonald Memorial Driving Championship honouring the longtime top reinsman at the capital oval.
The MacDonald championship, presented by the P.E.I. Standardbred Horse Owner’s Association, will see eight drivers compete in eight races on the day with the top point earner grabbing the trophy.
The event has three criteria to select the drivers with the top four reinsmen earning a spot in Marc Campbell, Gilles Barrieau, Adam Merner and Corey MacPherson. The next two drivers qualify as the top percentage pilots with over 75 starts with Steven Shepherd and David Dowling in that category. The top two drivers, by average with between 30 and 75 starts, also get an invite with those two being Donnie MacNeil and Dave Kelly Sr. The competition includes Races 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
The afternoon feature in Race 11 is billed the Steven MacRae Memorial Pace and carries a purse of $2,500. Revenant is the morning-line choice with Merner in the driver’s seat for trainer Ron Gass and owner Kyla MacDonald of Stanhope. The If I Can Dream six-year-old was third his last start at the preferred level to The Rev and will leave from Post 5 on Saturday.
The Ken Murphy-driven Pillage And Burn, with a streak of eight straight top-three finishes on the line, has Post 2 for trainer Trevor Hicken. Shadow Of A Daut has rail control for driver Campbell after circling the field in his latest.
Peter MacPhee, with the Post Time Picks, pegs Pillage And Burn for the top spot in Saturday’s feature.
“Pillage And Burn has been on a huge tear the past two months and already has eight wins this season,” said MacPhee. “He’s also back inside for this start, so don’t be surprised if he’s first or second again.”
For race programs, and a scoresheet for the MacDonald Memorial Driving Challenge, go to Redshores.ca and wager online at HPIBet.com.
Compiled by Nicholas Oakes for Red Shores.
