Saving Sammy: It's training day as Denny tests Sam on the track
Jayson Baxter, producer and co-host of CTV News at 5, shares the personal story of Saving Sammy, his family’s beloved racehorse.
I drove back to Prince Edward Island to rejoin Sammy and Denny on Oct. 6, four days before they would parade the entries for the “Saving Sammy Pace” at the Atlantic Breeders Crown Championship Sunday at Red Shores Raceway in Charlottetown.
Dad was in a hurry to get going as soon as I got there. He wanted to take Sam from Randy and Donna Van Meer’s farm outside Stratford, P.E.I., to Red Shores for a light training trip.
So far on the farm track, he’d been jogging Sam ‘free-legged,’ which means without ‘hopples,’ a piece of equipment designed to assist pacing.
Trotters move their opposite, front and back legs, at the same time -- right-front, left-hind and vice versa.
Pacers like Sammy extend both legs, same side, at the same time.
These stunning slo-mos by Chris Gooden Visuals show the difference in clear detail.
Bulldog Hanover – a horse with P.E.I. connections – broke the world record for a one-mile pace last summer in 1:45.4/5ths of a second. In harness racing, seconds are measured in fifths, not tenths. The four-year-old stallion’s average speed to do so was almost 55 km/h. Crazy speed.
Bulldog Hanover’s father, or sire, is Shadow Play, who was raised in P.E.I. and started his racing career at Red Shores before going on to make more than $1.5 million in purse money for co-owner Dr. Ian Moore, an Island veterinarian and one of the sports’ top trainers.
Sammy didn’t set any track records at Red Shores (maybe for an 18-year-old?!), but he hit the pace like he never left it, leaving dad excited about Sunday’s prospects.
OK, my head hurts from all the math … I hope you enjoy episode 3!
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.