Island Oceans Trot Classic at Red Shores

CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – The first leg of the inaugural Island Oceans Trot Classic, presented by JD Marine and Diving Inc., takes to the track Thursday evening at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

The 12-dash Thursday card has a 6 P.M. opening post time with the $3,950 Island Ocean Trot classic legs for aged trot mares lining up in races 2 and 4.

The first $3,950 division in race 2 has Maritime Champion Daisy River selected for the top spot from post 2 with Jason Hughes in the bike for owner-trainer William Lanigan of Montague. Other top entries are Little Miss Winnie (To Be driven by Kenny Arsenault) and Osprey Delta (Paul Larrabee).

Open trot contender Hop Up leads the way in the other split in race 4 for driver Corey MacPherson and owner-trainer Keith Campbell of Victoria West. Setting Day just won her seasonal debut in 2:01 and has post 3 for trainer-driver Mike McGuigan as second choice while Whim Road Gem (Jack Panting) is picked for third.

JD Marine and Diving Inc., co-owner Cam MacPhee is excited to be part of the new series, aimed at getting horse owners to invest in trotting mares on the East Coast. The series will have additional legs on August 9 at Red Shores Summerside, Sept. 3 in Charlottetown and Sept. 27 at Summerside, followed by a final on Oct. 11 as part of the Atlantic Breeder's Crown program in Charlottetown.

MacPhee is a director of the newly formed P.E.I. Standardbred Breeder's Association, where the idea for the trot mares' series came about over the winter. Then when the ink was dried and the sponsorship was offered to JD Marine and Diving, which MacPhee co-owns with Don Richards and Jamie Thompson, he jumped at the opportunity.

"It was a no-brainer for me," MacPhee said. "It's good for my business but even better for our industry and that is the ultimate priority for me. I hope this series has steady growth with bringing quality mares, and future broodmare prospects, to the region to grow the trot gait."

Catch the action live on the worldwide broadcast at Redshores.ca and wager online at HPIBet.com.

by Nicholas Oakes, for Red Shores