by John Horne, for Vernon Downs

Vernon, NY — John MacDonald put an exclamation point on his 2017 season at Vernon Downs during closing night (Nov. 4) with six driving wins and three training wins on the night.

Fotowon photo

John MacDonald was honored as the top driver and trainer of the meet.

MacDonald was top driver with 185 wins on the season and top trainer with 57 wins on the year. He was also owner and trainer of Oh My Joepa, who won Horse of the Year honors with nine wins.

MacDonald’s six driving wins on the night came with Always Flash-N ($3.10), Forty Carrots ($9.30), Major Master Piece ($5.70), Talk To Me Courage N ($9.50), Hurricane Howard ($5.00), and Sucrose Hanover ($3.30). His got his training victories with Major Master Piece, Hurricane Howard, and Sucrose Hanover.

Arsenic (Chris Lems) won the $7,500 featured pace. Golden Gun (Brett Crawford) put up all the early fractions, :26.4, :56, and 1:24. Arsenic (Bettor’s Delight), who is owned by Scott Dillon and trained by Heidi Rohr, battled Golden Gun (second) all the way down the stretch, nipping him at the wire in 1:52. Love To Roll (MacDonald) finished third.

Arsenic ($4.90) entered the winner’s circle for the fifth time this season while gathering up career win number 13.

Vernon Downs management and staff would like to thank all the horsemen and fans for a great 2017 season. For more information go to www.vernondowns.com.