Time to open the wallets

Crapaud the site of the annual Atlantic Classic yearling sale

The Atlantic Canadian harness racing scene will swarm the Crapaud Exhibition Grounds Friday in search of the next champion.

The Atlantic Classic yearling sale gets underway at 2 p.m. in Crapaud, with over 110 horses going through the ring for public auction. The sale will feature the first crops of Rollwithitharry and Striking Lindsey, along with the final crop of Camystic, sire of current Maritime Stakes leader Magical Mistress. Carnivore will also sell his final crop at auction on Friday.

Last year’s Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale set records with 93 horses going through the ring that day for a gross of $820,900, giving way to a $9,224 average per horse.

Again this year, the Atlantic Classic Sale is the only auction for standardbred yearlings on the East Coast after the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Select Sale stopped operating in 2016.

Malicious was the top Atlantic sire of the 2017 Atlantic Classic Sale with eight horses selling for a $12,738 average. That sire is sure to be in demand again after having a number of top two-yearold in the stakes this year, including two-year-old pacing colt divisional leader Woodmere Bolt.

The action switches to the track on Saturday for the start of the Breeders Crown Weekend Of Champions. A total of 12 dashes go post-ward at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park, with a 12:30 p.m. start time featuring the Atlantic Breeders Crown pacing consolation carrying $5,000 purses.

Saturday features the Atlantic Breeders Crown Banquet at Red Shores which will honour all the finalists in Sunday’s Atlantic Sires Stakes finals. The evening will also have presentations to the four families being honoured from each province. The Cedric Downey family will be honoured from New Brunswick, while the Hector Williams family has been selected from Newfoundland and Labrador and the Getto family of New Waterford is the Nova Scotia honouree. From P.E.I., the

Smith family of Pownal will be honoured with top owners and brothers Ian and Don Smith, along with Don’s son Peter Smith.

A 13-dash program has a 12:30 p.m. start time on Sunday, featuring the six Atlantic Breeders Crown finals for two and threeyear-old trotters and pacers as well as the $5,000 Atlantic Breeders Crown Invitational pace and an Open trot and Open fillies and mares pace.

The Summerside Raceway will hold a special holiday program on Monday starting at 1 p.m.