by Steve Wolf, for the Vincent Delaney Memorial

Dublin, Ireland — They may only be a little crazy by name, but the Looney family from Delaware, Jo Ann Looney-King, Susan Looney and Heather Looney Vitale, are all set to invade Ireland this August for the Ladbrokes Vincent Delaney Memorial weekend at Portmarnock Raceway.

Jim King Jr. photo

Susan Looney, Jo Ann Looney-King and Heather Looney Vitale are all set to invade Ireland this August for the Ladbrokes Vincent Delaney Memorial weekend.

The baby of the Looney family, Heather, has spearheaded this adventure and in her third straight year of going to Ireland for the Vincent Delaney (Aug. 13 and 14) is bringing her mom and her sister to share the adventure.

“When I tell people how incredible the Delaney Memorial weekend is,” explained Heather Vitale, “I just have a hard time explaining it. I tell everyone about how much fun the atmosphere is and how friendly and enthusiastic the Irish are, but words don’t give it justice.

“You have to be there to really be able to understand how truly special it is. I talked about the weekend so much and how much fun it was and my mom and sister knew they had to experience it for themselves.”

Over the past four years, brothers Derek and James Delaney have developed the Vincent Delaney Memorial Weekend (named after their younger brother who tragically died of a massive heart attack in 2011) into the biggest racing weekend in all of Ireland and the UK.

The Delaney Memorial is for 2-year-old pacers and is the richest stakes race in Ireland and the UK. This year, for the first time, there is a filly division sponsored by Adam Bowden and Diamond Creek Farm. Eliminations take place Saturday and the final is on Sunday.

In addition to the Delaney Memorial, there are other major stakes events including the Oakwood Stud Derby for 3-year-olds, the Paul Murtagh Sr. Memorial Championship for 4-year-olds, the Rocknroll Heaven/Pet Rock Irish-American FFA Pace, sponsored by the Bellino Stable and LeTrot Series events.

“I’m so happy we are taking this girls road trip,” Vitale said. “The last time the three of us went on a trip together, it was 15 years ago. We are long overdue for some quality time like this and this race weekend is perfect. The Delaney brothers are so welcoming and the horsemen and women are so passionate and the fans are so much fun.”

“We love having Heather here the past two years,” Derek Delaney said with a grin and a smile. “But I don’t know if Ireland is ready for the whole family. It will be our pleasure to have Heather’s mom and sister with us too. They are great horse people and we will show them a super time.”

Jo Ann Looney-King is no stranger to harness racing. She was the first woman driver ever to win a race at the Meadowlands and this past year was the 2015 Billy Haughton Good Guy Award winner at the USHWA Dan Patch dinner. This past year she trained top 3-year-old pacer Wakizashi Hanover and currently has the undefeated trotter Maestro Blue Chip in perfect form.

“After hearing Heather talk about her trips to Ireland,” Looney-King said, “I knew I had to get over there and see it for myself. I’ve never been to Ireland before so this is going to be fantastic. I’m really looking forward to the racing over there and meeting the horsemen and women who love this sport. The entire adventure should be wonderful from the trip to Oakwood Farm to walking around Dublin.

“I’ll be 70 this month (May 14) and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a milestone year than enjoying Ireland with my daughters.”

And older daughter Susan Looney is no stranger to harness racing. She was the youngster driver ever to win a race at the Meadowlands at age 16 in 1983 and then went on to become the first woman driver ever to win at Garden State Park. She now has her Doctorate in law and education and is presently the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the Reading Area Community College.

“I am so excited about joining my sister and my mother in Ireland.” Susan Looney said. “After watching the videos my sister took while she was there the past two years, I couldn’t resist joining her this summer. I am so looking forward to seeing the beautiful country and the inspiring harness racing in Ireland.”

It will not be all play and little work for Heather Looney Vitale while in Ireland. She will be doing live Facebook broadcasts from Portmarnock Raceway during the week along with added features from her trip for her show, Post Time, in the USA.

Vitale, in addition to producing her Post Time show in the USA, also has co-hosted the CBS Sports Network Little Brown Jug broadcast in 2014 and 2015.

For more information about the Labrokes Vincent Delaney Memorial Weekend visit www.vincentdelaneymemorial.com.