by Dean A. Hoffman

Dean Hoffman

Columbus, OH — A couple weeks ago, a guy came up to me at a racetrack and asked, “Dean, have you ever been to Prince Edward Island?”

He had no idea what a dangerous question that was to ask me. You see, he asked me a simple question and yet I could easily have held him captive all day and well into the night extolling the wonders of PEI.

I let him off easy, giving him the Cliff’s Notes version of my trips to PEI. He’d just come back from his first trip to the Island and I could see in his eyes that he was a convert, a true believer in the wonders of the Island. And if you’re not a true believer, just go there once in the summer and you’ll see what I mean.

My first trip to PEI came 31 years ago when my wife and I were meandering around the Maritimes. I wasn’t employed in harness racing, but I sure had an interest in it and I recall one pleasant evening sitting in the bleachers at Charlottetown Driving Park watching the races.

The horses didn’t go very fast — lots of the races, as I recall, didn’t beat 2:10. But the crowd enthusiasm was such that you’d think this was a Grand Circuit afternoon at The Red Mile.

Ironically, a few hours after this man confronted me with this question, my cell phone rings and it’s Wally Hennessey, my favorite Islander. I met Wally 25 years ago in Summerside when it simply teemed down rain the night of the Governor’s Cup pace. I could see that Wally practically owned the Maritime tracks. He sat in the sulky as if he were born there (and he practically was) and he conducted himself with class and dignity.

I recall exhorting Wally to come to the States to showcase his talents, but the Maritimes were his home and family came first.

Later, the allure of Florida got the best of Wally and one winter in Florida was his first step on the way to the Hall of Fame.

I know a little about winters in PEI, too, because I’ve been there in January. I remember taking photos of horses in the snow when the lens on my camera shutter effectively froze and I decided to get myself inside and get a nip of Maritime anti-freeze.

I loved PEI so much that I vowed when my daughters were old enough, I’d take them to this wonderful province and share its beauty with them.

We made that trip 11 years ago. They were, frankly, more interested in visiting the Anne of Green Gables home than watching harness racing, but they loved the island as much as I do. We rented a cottage on the shore and there just happened to be a Standardbred mare in an adjacent field. They’d pet her regularly and still remember her.

I was delighted to see a feature on PEI as the lead travel story in USA Today recently. It’s a destination vacation gem and more people should realize that.

Old Home Week is underway now on Prince Edward Island and former Islanders really do return to their roots. The big show on the track is the Gold Cup & Saucer. To my regret, I’ve only seen it one time, but that was enough to convince me it was the greatest show in harness racing. I shared a ride to the track and a box seat with the Premier of Prince Edward Island, Catherine Callbeck, the only woman ever to hold that position.

It’s hard to describe the atmosphere when the Gold Cup & Saucer pacers go behind the gate. There was so much anticipation and hype and I thought I was seeing Niatross, Bret Hanover, Albatross, Nihilator, Cam Fella, Dan Patch, and other greats fight it out on the track.

Travel isn’t easy these days and it’s surely not cheap, but if you ever want to see harness racing’s roots in a picturesque setting, make plans to visit PEI. You, too, will become a true believer.