by Jack Ginnetti

Marlborough, MA — Plainridge Racecourse officials have announced that the 14th edition of the Bert Beckwith Day festivities will take place September 5 (Labor Day).

The 2011 Beckwith Memorial will carry a purse of $20,000 and the field will be established a week earlier with a pair of $6,000 eliminations on Monday (August 29).

The Beckwith was first raced for $75,000 on October 23, 1994, at Foxboro Raceway and was won by Village Jiffy with Paul MacDonell in the bike. The mile went in 1:54.2. The winner of the 2010 Beckwith Memorial was Camityourinmyway (1:55.1), driven by D.T. Sumner and owned by Stephen LaCasse and Cynthia Stainker.

Always popular on the track’s biggest day is the announement of the Wall of Fame inductee. That ceremony is held prior to the first race. Members of the Plainridge Wall of Fame include Beckwith, Greg Bowden, Jim Doherty, Steve O’Toole, Bucky Day, Gary Kamal, Jim Morrill Sr., Ken Heeney, John Hogan, Peter Blood, Williard Beckwith, Leigh Fitch, Ted Wing, David Marshall, Paul Battis, Elmer Smith, Bruce Ranger and Joe Hartmann.

Missing from this year’s weekend celebration is Hartmann, who shaped the Labor Day program into a fun filled afternoon for young and old. He made the Beckwith festivities into a carnival type atmosphere and his passing last year diminished us all.

Post time for this Monday’s card is 4 p.m. Monday post time switches to 1 p.m. on Labor Day and will remain in effect during the race dates in September and until the meet ends in December.