by Jack Ginnetti

Marlborough, MA — The legends driving series on Monday’s Labor Day card at Plainridge Racecourse is always a big attraction to the home of New England’s prestigious $25,000 Bert Beckwith Memorial Pace and the final of the $26,300 Stan Bergstein.

The 10-race card features the largest single day purse distributions of the season when some $130,000 will be given out during the holiday program which attracts the biggest crowd of the year.

The legends will be contesting a purse of $6,000 with $3,000 going to the winner. The greats of the past and present will compete in four races with three drivers in each race and points awarded for the finish.

The 2010 legends include Bruce Ranger, Jim Doherty, Peter Blood, Williard Beckwith, Elmer Smith, Leigh Fitch, Steve O’Toole, Greg Bowden, John Hogan and Paul Battis. These members of the track’s Wall of Fame’have amassed 37,000 trips to the winner’s circle.

Prior to the holiday pairings track officials will induct Joseph Hartmann to its Wall of Fame. Hartman’s untimely death last March at 59 shocked the Plainridge family. He ran the Labor Day festivities, was a former general manageer at Foxboro Raceway, a celebrated journalist for 37 years and member of the New England Harness Writers and past president of the U.S. Harness Writers Association. The ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. on the first level of the track.

Monday’s racing spectacular also features races in memory of Ron Pasquantonio, Hartmann, Kurt Areano, Bucky Day, Gary Kamal, James Winters and David Marshall. The finale features the C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series for trotters worth $4,000.

This year’s event promises again to give harness fans an upclose look at the greats of the past and present in a setting that brings out the best in everyone.

This marks the 11th Beckwith Memorial at Plainridge. The first three were held at Foxboro Raceway thanks to the forward thinking of its founder, Plainridge CEO Gary Piontkowski.