Charlottetown, P.E.I. –The 2019 harness racing season is coming to a close all across North America and the greatest driver to leave Charlottetown will lead the continent for driving percentage.
Wally Hennessey, who grew up on Euston Street, has 420 wins from 1,307 starts in New York and Florida in 2019, giving him a remarkable .457 driving average.
The 63-year-old has been a top name in the sport for decades and this year’s numbers put him tops in all of the U.S. and Canada for driving percentage for reinsman with more than 500 starts.
That list for the continent also consists of a trio of regulars at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park (CDP). Saint John, N.B., native Gilles Barrieau, who races on P.E.I., is sixth with a .401 Universal Driving Rating System (UDRS) mark, winning 151 races from 636 drives. Warren Grove resident David Dowling is in ninth place with 154 wins from 657 starts (.379 UDRS) while Winsloe’s Marc Campbell is 10th with 178 wins from 740 starts (.377 UDRS).
Having four of the top 10 spots reserved for drivers with ties to Charlottetown harness racing is an incredible accomplishment for Island racing.
On the horse side, So Much More is the winningest Island-bred horse with the Ontario-sired daughter of Big Jim in 18th place amongst all horses in North America for dash wins with 15 victories. Bred by Doug MacPhee of New Haven and campaigned on P.E.I. by Tom Weatherbie before being sold to Ontario interests at the start of the season, So Much More was a top contender in the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit this year as a three-year-old. She added another feather to her cap recently by beating the $30,000 fillies and mares preferred class at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:51.3 with Kingston native James MacDonald in the bike.
Also tied for 18th on the list of top dash-winning horses is a pair of horses from the Wood family’s Woodmere Farms in Marshfield. Woodmere Oleksiak could move up in the rankings tonight at The Meadowlands in New Jersey with her final start of the calendar year. A champion filly on the East Coast from the Earl Watts stable, Woodmere Oleksiak has won her last four starts in New Jersey, including wins in 1:53.3 and 1:54.4 at The Meadowlands.
Woodmere Rondevous is in a similar spot with a start pending tonight as the son of Articulator will look to add to his 15 wins from 45 starts this season, all at Monticello Raceway in New York. Oceanview Magnum, from William Roloson’s standardbred nursery in Belfast, also has 15 wins this year with his latest in the $14,000 claiming ranks at Woodbine in 1:54.2.
The top Island-bred trotter for wins is Gettin Messi, bred by William Andrew of Meridian Farms in Milton, then raced on the Island by Blayne White and Len (Barney) McGuigan. The 14-time winner this season set a Maritime record of 1:58.3 this summer at the CDP and was a recent winner at Yonkers Raceway in New York in a new lifetime best of 1:56.1.
P.E.I. Scene
Live racing continues Tuesday at the CDP with a special New Year’s Eve program scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
By Nicholas Oakes