It’s Vincent Delaney Memorial Weekend in the UK

This Saturday and Sunday (August 14-15) is the Vincent Delaney Memorial (VDM) Weekend of harness racing. Normally held in Ireland, the race weekend needed to be move and will take place this weekend for the first time at Tir Prince in Wales, UK.

Vincent Delaney was Derek and James younger brother who tragically died in 2011 at the age of 27. The brothers then developed the memorial race series in his honor and it has since grown to become the richest stakes event and weekend in the history of harness racing in Ireland and the UK.

The VDM is a rugged event for two-year-old pacers that requires horses to compete in elimination divisions on

Saturday and then come back Sunday to race in the finals.

There are both colt and filly divisions of the VDM. Each of the finals will race for a purse of £30,000, £15,000 euros goes to the winner of each final.

The colt final is being sponsored by Hanover Shoe Farm of Pennsylvania, USA and the filly final is sponsored by Diamond Creek Farm of Kentucky, USA.

The race was moved to Tir Prince due to the pending sale of Portmarnock Raceway in Dublin, Ireland. Tir Prince is a half mile hard track in West Wales and is rated as the fastest track in all of Ireland and the UK.

In addition to the VDM finals, carded over the weekend will be the Oakwood Stud for three-year-old colt and filly pacer. The same conditions apply as for the VDM with eliminations Saturday and the finals on Sunday. Purses are £15,000 with a guaranteed £10,000 to the winner of each final.

There will also be the Bernie Kelly Memorial FFA Pace, the LPD Demolition Pace for four-year-olds, the Elvin/Delaney FFA Trot and the A Bit Of Legend N JFFA Pace.

USA Hall of Fame track announcer, Roger Huston, will be at Tir Prince to call the VDM races for the seventh straight weekend.

For more information, visit www.vincentdelaneymemorial.com.

By Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink