Boxing Day Pace was real slugfest

CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – Two of the greatest Atlantic Bred harness racing pacers of all time went toe to toe in an epic stretch drive with Sock It Away hanging on for the victory in the Boxing Day Pace at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

Sock It Away controlled the $3,400 featured pace from the rail as driver Marc Campbell sprinted him through splits of 27.2, 55.4 and 1:25.2 before the richest Atlantic Bred of all-time, The Rev (Gilles Barrieau), came off his back to contest the stretch drive.

Sock It Away dug deep in the final strides to fend off The Rev for a 1:54.4 victory for trainer Kevin MacLean and owner Reg MacPherson of Stratford. The Rev was second ahead of Ladylike (David Dowling).

To watch race replay, click here.

Campbell continued his dash title dominance with three winners on the day including Arc Light (1:57.3) from his own barn and I Can Do It (1:59.3) for trainer Keith Ford. Campbell is set to be the leading driver at Red Shores Charlottetown for the 12th straight season.

Campbell may have the dash title tied up but blue and white were were the most prominent colours in the historic winner’s circle on Boxing Day as driver Adam Merner had five trips to get his photo taken.

The Charlottetown driver started off the action winning the opener with Outrageous Spirit (2:01) for trainer Kevin Peters followed by a win with Lyons Image (1:58.4) from the Colin Johnson barn and a victory with Elm Grove Mistress (1:58.1) for conditioner Jennifer Doyle. Merner also hit the wire first with two horses for his partner, trainer Melissa Rennie, as they duo won with The Ironman (2:00.2) and Kataparka (1:56.2).

Total wager on the Boxing Day program was $81,189 with live racing continuing Friday evening at 6:30 for a special New Year’s Eve presentation. For race replays and a complete racing schedule go to Redshores.ca.

For full race results, click here.

by Nicholas Oakes, for Red Shores