Camluck Classic magic soon to hit London

One of Canadian harness racing’s biggest events, the $150,000 Camluck Classic, is next up on the calendar.

The race for aged pacers is a week away on May 26, and the event surrounding it is returning bigger and better this year.

The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021, and the track is looking for an even greater rebound from its 2022 attendance. It’s one of the most celebrated events at The Raceway and the first Grand Circuit tilt of the season in Canada. The country’s top aged pacers – and likely some U.S. standouts – will compete for a purse of $150,000. The undercard will feature the Forest City Pace – the Camluck Classic’s sister race for mares – Ontario Sires Stakes clashes, and the City of London Series finals, the eliminations of which started on Wednesday. It’s a night of racing that many of the staff at The Raceway have been anticipating.

Announcer Shannon “Sugar” Doyle can’t wait.

“[It’s] very exciting,” he said. “You know we brought it back last year after an absence due to the pandemic. It was a great race, you know, Jimmy Freight, track record for stallions. We didn’t get the crowd that we normally had, people were still a little bit tentative of getting out, I imagine, getting into large groups of people. But we pulled it off. And this time around, we’re expecting a much larger crowd to take in the race and I feed off of our big crowds on Camluck Classic night, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’ve been to some big races all over Canada — out west, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick. For me, these are the best aged horses you’re going see on a half mile track in Canada this year, I believe. Year in year out, we get some of the best pacers in North America showing up here. And I think this year, it’s going to be the same deal.”

It’s a race with history at The Raceway. For 25 years, from 1992-2017, it was known as the Molson Pace. This made it one of the most prominent sponsored harness racing events in the country, and it was an anticipated fixture on the calendar. In 2018, with new sponsor Seelster Farms, it became the Camluck Classic. Rockin Ron won the inaugural edition under the new moniker, blowing away a strong field by eight lengths. Jimmy Freight was the most recent title holder but won’t be able to defend his title.

Doyle’s favourite?

“Oh, that’s an easy one. It’s likely my first one —  2014,” he said. “State Treasurer makes a bobble at the start, he’s sitting last going into the bottom turn, he circles them, and he’s in a three-way thriller against Foiled Again and Apprentice Hanover. Three-across [at] the finish, and it winds up in a photo with State Treasurer on top.

“I don’t script race calls — if you script race calls, you’re probably going to get tripped up.  I wanted a script for this call because it was my first time calling, in person, Foiled Again. At that time, he was the now horse — everybody wanted a piece of Foiled Again, so I script it for Foiled Again. Turning for home, ‘it’s Foiled Again being awesome, it’s awesome being Foiled Again.’ And he was, he was really good that night. He just got taken down late by State Treasurer. As mentioned, [he] bobbled at the start, sitting last, circles them — you will never ever see a horse on a half-miler do what he did in a Grand Circuit race ever again. That was a once-in-a-lifetime event; for me, a once-in-a-lifetime call. That’s easily my favorite signature race in London”

2014 MOLSON PACE REPLAY

The field is nearly complete for the 2023 race. The Raceway at the Western Fair District has announced seven confirmed starters so far: world record holder This Is The Plan, Borgata Series contenders Idealsomemageic A, Covered Bridge, and Funatthebeach N, Free For All regular American History, Hoosier Park Open powerhouse Macs Big Boy, and 2022 Grand Circuit horse Whichwaytothebeach. American History put the others on notice with his May 13 victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park, his first top-level win of the year, in which he paced the fastest mile – 1:48.2 – in Canada so far this season.

The Raceway is preparing too. The track has secured vendors for merchandise and food, including the Bulldog Brew. The beer, produced locally by London Brewing Company, will come in a novelty can when it is sold on May 26.

Doyle is particularly excited about the new brew.

“You know, our team got together, the whole Western Fair District team,” he said. “We’ve been planning for months now. And we’ve gotten together a number of occasions, trying to come up with some ideas. And I think our team has nailed one with the Bulldog brew. Of course, it’s it’s a summer lager can a beer paying tribute to the fastest Standardbred of all time, Bulldog Hanover. You know, when we were meeting, we got talking about what could be a good idea for souvenirs. Of course, we’ve got we’ve got the t-shirts, and we’ve got pens, and we’ve got some other great souvenir items.

“But you know what? Bulldog Hanover — you mention his name and the juices just start flowing for anyone that follows harness racing.”

The upcoming event is stirring excitement in the track’s management, who are hopeful to parlay a record handle in 2022 into further success. Bettors wagered more than $56.7 million at The Raceway last year and put $10.7 million through the windows in March, a new highest ever monthly handle. The fiscal year total also equates to a new per-race record handle of $46,030.

Greg Blanchard, the track’s Director of Equine Programming, said he’s pleased to see another peak in an overall trend of growth.

“[It’s] obviously very satisfying to see those kinds of numbers,” he said. “I came to the Raceway in 2010 and had a pretty nice trajectory, before that time. Over the years to get to the kind of numbers we put up this year is pretty remarkable to see. I can remember the days when they were, you know, a fraction of that.

“So, yeah, it’s I guess the sign of the times. And I’m not gonna take any credit for it. I just returned here, January 1 and in the midst of a season where we had a lot of momentum. It’s just nice to see it continue into the new year.

He also said he’s hoping to see those numbers translate into a massive Camluck Classic night.

“I think we’re very excited about our signature race, the Camluck Classic. One thing about it — the overall wagering has been tremendous this year, [but] on track, it’s been a little bit flat coming out of the pandemic. So we’re really excited for the return of the Camluck. It’s a night that, over the years, we’ve put a lot of work into developing as a really fun and attractive night for customers, where we’ve got, we think, something for everyone.

“And last year, we weren’t quite fully back to normal, but it was nice to get that race back under our belt. This year, it feels like we’re going to be full steam ahead again, with the planning for that, and bringing back a lot of the popular elements that people have come to expect.”

The undercard for the May 26 program also promises high-quality racing. The Forest City Pace – the sister race to the Camluck Classic for mares – secured both 2022 champion Gias Surreal and Woodbine Mohawk Park juggernaut So Much More for a rematch. So Much More finished sixth in last year’s edition, but the mare secured Older Pacing Mare honours at the O’Brien Awards regardless. She is also riding a three-race win streak, including a beastly effort in the Free For All against males in 1:49.3 on May 6. After that effort, Doyle suggested she should be invited to the Camluck Classic. Gias Surreal competed in the Fillies and Mares Preferred at Mohawk Park in May, finishing second twice. She is winless in nine starts this year.

Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots action and the City of London Series finals will complete the undercard for the night, The Raceway’s final card of the meet. There will also be giveaways on track and the Party on the Patio.

The track is looking to wrap up the spring season on a high.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink