Drew Campbell runs away with six at Plainridge
September 25, 2018,by Tim Bojarski, for the Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts
Plainville, MA — Drew Campbell, who is currently the second leading percentage driver in North America, displayed exactly why he is on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 25) at Plainridge Park by winning six races on the 11-race card by a combined 27 lengths.
Tom Melanson photo
Stonebridge Honey was one of Drew Campbell’s six winning drives on Tuesday at Plainridge Park.
Campbell cruised home on top with Dr. C’s Z Tam (1:54.1, $4.60), Shanghai Warrior (1:53.1, $4.80), Stonebridge Honey (1:54.4, $2.20), Golden Idol (1:55.2, $5.60), McElodian (1:53.3, $17.00) and Mia’s First Time (1:56, $3.00).
Campbell’s six wins came out of only eight starts for the day, giving him a .750 Universal Driver Rating (UDR) for the program.
Campbell’s overall UDR is .422, only .008 behind Guy Gagnon for the North American lead. But that’s really no surprise, as he has finished above .400 in each of the last five years. In 2017, he ended his campaign with an unbelievable .523, which was far and away the best in North America.
Despite the lofty averages, Campbell is also a win machine. Currently only 159 wins away from the landmark 5,000 win plateau, he is also the leading driver at Plainridge Park with 127 wins, 32 ahead of his nearest competitor. And combined with his starts at all other tracks, Campbell has 268 wins in 1,039 starts and $1.32 million in earnings for 2018. That earnings total is already a career single-season high for him.
The Massachusetts Sire Stakes kick off the 2018 season on Monday (Oct. 1) with four divisions of 2-year-old trotters and pacers each going for an estimated $35,000. The 3-year-olds will hit the track on Tuesday (Oct. 2) for their first leg. Horsemen are advised that the draw for both days will be held on Thursday (Sept. 27), with the box closing at 9 a.m.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Thursday (Sept. 27) with post time at 2 p.m.