by Dave Briggs, Standardbred Communications, Ontario Horse Racing

Hanover, ON — Hanover Raceway kicks off its 51st pari-mutuel season of grassroots harness racing Saturday (June 6) with a free Hanover Raceway ball cap giveaway to the first 250 patrons to buy a program. It’s all part of a jam-packed summer of promotions that are part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the track’s operators, the Hanover Bentinck and Brant Agricultural Society.

The track will race on 16 Saturday nights this summer through the Sept. 26 closing card (excluding Aug. 8 when the track is dark to prepare for the annual Hanover Fair to be held Aug. 15-17).

This Saturday, doors open at 6 p.m. The first-race post time is 7:15 p.m., the same time it will be for Hanover Raceway’s whole season, except for the Aug. 1 card featuring the Dream Of Glory stakes final and the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots event for 3-year-old pacing fillies. That card starts an hour earlier at 6:15 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.) and will feature a barbeque, live band, carriage rides, a celebrity horse and a fireworks display after the races.

Other notable promotions include:

• the Balanced Image stakes on Aug. 29 featuring a live band and numerous prize giveaways
• OSS Grassroots event for 3-year-old filly trotters on Sept. 5
• a Molson Men’s day on June 20 (Father’s Day eve) in which dads have a chance to win up to $2,000 in prizes, including barbeques, golf clubs and more
• Racing Under Saddle on July 4
• The Country 93 Survivor Contest through the month of July
• A big closing card on Sept. 26 featuring prizes and season-ending awards honoring the track’s top horse and horsepeople for 2015

For more information, check out Hanover Raceway’s OHR page or the track’s website.