Northside set to open Saturday

Harness racing returns to Cape Breton on Saturday, May 11 with the first card of the season set for Northside Downs.

There will be a total of eight races contested, with a six-horse field heading postward in the seventh race to vie for the winner’s share of the $1,600 purse in the Winners Over feature.

Rockinforreal (Rockin Image – Iam Total For Real, PP3, 3-1) is the dark horse in the field and makes his local debut in this event for owner – trainer – driver Jason Mac Neil of New Waterford, N.S. He raced in five jurisdictions as a sophomore in 2023, making a total of 31 starts while closing out the year racing in Ontario. Lifetime, Rockinforreal sports a summary of 10-7-6 from 60 starts with nearly $70,000 in earnings and a mark of 1:55.3 taken at Pocono Downs.

The other five entrants are known quantities at Northside, including 5-2 morning line choice Gentry Seelster (Mach Three – Goddess Princess, PP5, 5-2). Now seven, the Ian MacNeil pupil looked sharp in his seasonal qualifying debut, winning by seven lengths in a time of 2:02. Mark Pezzarello gets the call behind the a winner of 17 career races with more than $53,000 in his bankroll, for Ian, Joseph and Bernard MacNeil.

Rounding out the field are  Keeperoftherealm (PP1, Ryan Campbell, 7-2), David Lloyd George (PP2, Keigan Madden, 5-1), A Better Man (PP4, Gerard Kennedy, 4-1 and the veteran Runaway Mystery (PP6, Harold Leblanc, 9-2).

Northside Downs will host a total of 27 live racing cards this year, with Saturday afternoons comprising the bulk of the race days. The Sydney, N.S. oval will race through to Saturday, Aug. 3, shift to a Thursday card on Aug. 8 before taking a few Saturdays off during Old Home Week in Prince Edward Island. Racing resumes on Aug. 24 with Saturdays through to Nov. 16 — with an exception of a Monday afternoon card on Oct. 14 instead of Oct. 12.

First post time on Saturday is 1 p.m. ADT.

For complete race entries, click here.

From Standardbred Canada