Driver’s championship highlights weekend

Paul MacDonald Memorial Trophy at stake today in Charlottetown

The Paul MacDonald memorial driving challenge is set for today with a top slate of eight drivers competing for the honour at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

First race post time is 12:30 p.m. for the 12-dash program.

The driving championship is part of Horse Person’s Day, sponsored by the P.E.I. Standardbred Horse Owner’s Association.

The challenge pits the top four dash winners against some top percentage drivers to see who lands on top. The top dash winning drivers category includes Marc Campbell, Jason Hughes, Gilles Barrieau and Adam Merner. The championship also has the top two percentage drivers with more than 75 starts in Corey MacPherson and Kenny Arsenault, while a special part of the annual challenge has the top two percentage drivers with 40 to 75 drives thrown into the mix. That category has Don MacNeill and Earl Smith.

The drivers will compete in Races 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 with the top point earner receiving the MacDonald Memorial trophy in honour of former dash-winning driver Paul MacDonald, who passed away in 2008.

Campbell is just three wins away from making more history with 141 wins so far this season, just shy of his record 144-win total in Charlottetown set in 2016.

There’s 12 races scheduled for Sunday.