by Frank Salive, for Western Fair Raceway

London, ON — Here are some quick stats about the 2010 Molson Pace.

• No favorite has won since Ponder in 2005
• This year’s favorite, Won The West, has the highest life’s earnings in the field at moe than $2.2 million
• The driver of Won The West, David Miller, is the world’s top driver by earnings since the turn of the millienium with more than $103 million in purses since New Year’s Day 2000

The roster of upset winners the past four years in the Molson Pace:

• 2006-Our Lucky Killean (3.5-1, $9 to win, beaten favorite Dr No)
• 2007-Rare Jewel (4-1, paid $10 to win, beaten favorite Maltese Artist)
• 2008-Eagle Luck (25-1, paid over $52 to win, beaten favorite Tigerama)
• 2009-Stormaway (19-1, paid over $40 to win, beaten favorite Foiled Again)

The Molson Pace purse of C$312,000 is the richest single race in Western Fair history. The total purses for the evening of more than C$720,000 is the richest single program in the track’s 49-year modern day history, dating to 1961.

In addition to the Molson Pace, the card includes a C$130,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final for 3-year-old pacing fillies in race five and four finals of the City of London Series worth approximately C$50,000 each. They are carded as races three, four, six and nine.

The program also features a C$20,000 Invitational Pace as race eight which includes two starters in last Friday night’s Molson Pace eliminations, Wholly Louy (post four) and Blueridge Western (post six). Silent Swing, a finalist in last year’s Molson Pace, starts from post three in that race with top driver David Miller down to drive.

Please note that Friday night’s card is the final live race card at Western Fair for the next few months. Racing will return for three days, September 13, 14 and 15 during the annual Western Fair with the fall/winter meet starting on October 15.

Friday night’s card gets underway at 7:05 p.m. Program pages and live video are available at www.westernfair.com.