Harness racers gearing up ahead of most celebrated race in Atlantic Canada

It’s the most important week in Atlantic Canadian harness racing, leading up to the Gold Cup and Saucer, the region’s richest and most celebrated race.

The sport is so popular with Islanders that Gold Cup Parade Day was made the province’s August holiday.

“Of course, in a lot of other provinces, the first Monday of August is considered to be a civic holiday, but not so here,” said Tom Clark, Racehorse Owner. “Typically, most support Gold Cup and Saucer Day, which happens to be the Friday of Old Home Week.”

The Gold Cup Parade is the biggest this side of Montréal.

The race has been going for more than 60 years and draws thousands of people each year.

It takes a whole lot to win a Gold Cup and Saucer. The horses on the track are bred champions, some of them going for over $100,000 at auction.

“It’s a hard race to win,” said Marc Campbell, three-time Gold Cup and Saucer Champion. “It’s so competitive. You have one time of year to win it and so many things can happen. There’s seven other guys out there, eight other guys some nights, trying to win that same race that have been wanting to win it since they were a little kid too.”

In this week, Charlottetown is the centre of the Atlantic Canadian harness racing world.

“It’s the culmination of course, the Gold Cup and Saucer,” said Clark. “The build up, the hype, the excitement, the calibre and level of horses that come from all of North America to compete here.”

What does it takes for a horse to be Gold Cup and Saucer Champion?

“They’re athletes. They want to, the best ones want to, win,” said Campbell. “They want to race the other horses that are out there, and that’s why the good horses are good horses and OK horses are OK horses -- they only want to win sometimes, but the ones that want to win, try the hardest, are the champions.”

Twenty-two horses compete in time trails this weekend for a spot in the Gold Cup and Saucer final next weekend and a shot at $100,000 in prizes.