Mark MacDonald driving Western Silk
First off the gate was Mark's father Fred MacDonald, who penned an op-ed column in the Charlottetown Guardian stating the case that his son should have been nominated as Canada's harness racing Driver of the Year for 2010.
Highlights of Fred MacDonald's comments:
Fred on Waples in 2010:
Waples had a great season as well. He won the Breeders Crown with aged mare Dreamfair Eternal as she dominated the Open Mares throughout the season. He won the $600,000 Maple Leaf trot with sensational San Pail, and the $539,000 Valley Victory trot with Blue Porsche. In addition, during OSS Super Final night at Woodbine, he won two $300,000 events on the same card, including one with trot standout Text Me.
A little passive-aggressive there Freddie, but okay, Randy did have some good horses; go on...
Fred on Scott Zeron in 2010:
Zeron led all drivers in the country with 592 wins and a career-high $4.3 million in earnings. Zeron, the son of veteran driver Rick Zeron, campaigned mostly on the 'B' circuit, including Western Fair, Flamboro and Georgian Raceway. He posted 27 wins on the tough Woodbine/Mohawk Circuit. His most important win of the campaign came in the $50,000 Gold Cup and Saucer at Charlottetown with Part Shark, the youngest to ever win the event.
Alright, so Scott has yet to be tested in the big events...
Fred regarding his son Mark in 2010:
Mark’s major wins: $1.5-million North America Cup, the richest race in North America, with Sportswriter in 1:48:3; the $800,000 Fan Hanover Stakes, the richest race for three-year-old fillies with Western Silk, the $240,000 Jugette at Delaware, Ohio, with Western Silk, a rarity for an Ontario-bred; the $100,000 Senior Jug with Lucky Man p, 1:49:2 World Record, the Eternal Camnation Stakes, all three $100,000-plus legs in one night with Idyllic, Pretty Katherine and Mater Deo.
Response of Mark MacDonald (from StandardbredCanada.ca comments on Feed MacDonald's article on Mark MacDonald):
Hell hath no furry like a scorned father! LOL
This is Mark MacDonald and I am so proud of the year I had and so grateful for all the Owners & Trainers that had the confidence to let me drive some of the best horses in some of the biggest races in the world. There is no feeling like crossing the wire after winning a 1.5 Million dollar race about 20 minutes after winning a $700,000 Race. The Jugette with Silky (my girl), the Simcoe with Kyle, sweeping the Champlain on grand circuit night at moh and three Super Finals was the a cherry on top. God must love me and I really dedicate my year to all the people who were blessed with a second chance in life.
I am so happy for Scott Zeron leading driver in Canada by wins and of course our leading driver at WEG Randy Waples. They both deserved to be nominated, with out a doubt they both had amazing years. Obviously, a nomination would have been nice but I have been fortunate enough to already have won two O'Brien Awards.
I am thrilled that the public (my dad lol) think that I am deserving enough for this honor. I also think, the two people nominated are equally deserving for an O'Brien Award. Hopefully, Standardbred Canada will let me be there to announce the winner and present either nominee with their trophy.
Lastly, I hope I don't sound like a politician but I truly believe that Scott, Randy and myself among others, like Jody Jamieson, Paul MacDonell, Etc. could have been nominated. It just comes down to a vote plain and simple. The two people with the most votes are well deserving and good luck to both of them!!
Hopefully next year the votes will be in my favour. Can't wait until 2011 hope I can win some more big races and make all of P.E.I., Canada and my family proud... Especially my Mom and Dad! We LOVE "Grassroots" racing, it's essential for the success of harness racing not just in Ontario but all of Canada and the U.S.A. You can't blame dad for being my biggest fan, I'm lucky to have him......
All the best to everyone in 2011.....if you have a really good horse hopefully I can drive it for you lol....Sorry to anyone that my dad may have offended but we're grassroots through and through. Thanks to everyone who helped me have this amazing year, I'm not going to mention names (CC) because this is already to long lol.
Mark J MacDonald
December 24, 2010
Great post, Mark! You are a true gentleman (cool shout-out to Casie) and I also think you have wisely and gently planted seeds for future year votes. PEI and Canada are very proud to have watched you develop into one of the planet's premier harness racing drivers; Many Happy Returns in 2011!
Mark MacDonald driving Western Silk to victory in the Jugette (including Mark MacDonald interviews after first heat and after final heat win).
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