Clinton, ON —  “I just didn’t want to fall off the bike, and anything beyond that is a success,” said a jovial Randy Waples following his first pari-mutuel drive in almost two years.

It was a big day for driver Randy Waples, as he scored a victory in the HPIbet Legends Trot at Clinton Raceway. Jessica Carnochan Photo.

The occasion was today’s HPIBet Legends Trot — the highlight of Clinton Raceway’s 12th edition of its biennial Legends Day event, which drew a large, enthusiastic crowd and saw over C$100,000 wagered.

Showcasing harness drivers from the Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame, it also serves as a major fundraiser for the track’s community. Waples was one of eight distinguished Hall Of Famers competing in the C$10,000 race. His competitors were Wally Hennessey, Doug Brown, Steve Condren, Chris Christoforou, Sylvain Filion, Paul MacDonell, and Carl Jamieson.

Hometown race winner Heavy Dude E was a 6-1 victor, wiring the field under Waples’ command, and holding on to finish a neck the best over Cool Clifford (Steve Condren) in 2:01.1. Charmbro Prince (Wally Hennessey) was third. It was the fifth win of the season for Heavy Dude E — a six-year-old gelding owned by breeder Natalie Elliott of Clinton, ON. She also trains the career winner of 25 races and C$184,000.

Hall Of Fame announcer Frank Salive stepped out of retirement to call the HPIBet Legends Day Trot.

“There are so many great stories in harness racing traced to these grounds, these few hallowed acres of property right here at Clinton Raceway,” said Salive. “I really love this place and I’m saying that from the heart.

Through several Legends Day initiatives, this year’s fundraising efforts raised more than C$61,000 for the Clinton Public Hospital Foundation, bringing the total to C$391,000 since the event’s inception in 2001. Today’s fundraising included a BBQ for which 900 tickets were sold, and a C$500 silent auction score for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame resulting from Sylvain Filion’s donation of the helmet he wore during today’s HPIBet Legends Trot.

During a reunion for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame, fans mingled with the guest drivers and other featured guests of the event who have previously driven in its signature race: John Campbell, Trevor Ritchie, Dave Wall, Ron Waples and Bill O’Donnell. The distinguished roster has combined statistics of 92,450 winning drives and purse earnings of $1.4 billion.

The race card also featured three elimination rounds for next week’s C$50,000 Kin Pace Final. Today’s division winners were Wicked Leader in 1:58 (Trevor Henry for trainer Tom Gallant), Greatest Pleasure in 1:58 (Louis-Philippe Roy for Luc Blais) and How Much in 1:55 (Doug McNair for Dave Menary).