Beating record 'means everything' to Charlottetown horse driver
'I knew something special happened'
It was a regular night at Charlottetown's Red Shores racetrack when Gettin Messi suddenly broke a Maritime record.
The Charlottetown-based horse is now the fastest three-year-old trotter in the Maritimes after Race 6 on Thursday. Gettin Messi won with a time of 1:58.3.
In harness racing, races are often divided by the age of the horse and by the gait in which they're racing: either a trot or a pace.
Gettin Messi's driver, Mike McGuigan, never intended to break the record that night.
"I didn't know the track record at the time," McGuigan said. "But when I crossed the line I knew I probably had a shot at it."
The previous record was set in 2011 by Waiting On A Woman, driven by Corey MacPherson of P.E.I., with a time of 1:58.4.
Family connection
McGuigan got his racing licence 14 years ago, at the same time that he started working full time in security at what is now Red Shores. He describes it as "working both sides of the fence."
McGuigan has a family connection to horse racing as well. His father Len McGuigan was a long-time driver, and is now Gettin Messi's trainer.
Mike said Len essentially raised him at the racetrack, where Len would drive eight or nine horses a night.
Mike was a dedicated hockey player during his younger years, but got into harness racing himself after experiencing heart issues at the age of 18.
And when Len had spinal surgery a few years later, Mike literally took the reins from his father.
'I knew something special happened'
"It means everything to me," Mike said of having this record as part of a family legacy.
"Records are nice to have, and it's definitely nice to break them, but to do something that you're passionate about … that means a lot."
And Len was watching from the fence at the race Thursday night.
"I could hear him roaring when I crossed the wire," Mike said. "So I knew something special happened."
Gettin Messi's value has likely gone "through the roof" because of this record, said Mike, but he doesn't want to part with him anytime soon.
"You're not always in the game for the money," Mike said. He wants Gettin Messi to have a good career in P.E.I. and Maritime races.
Mike is expecting to give Gettin Messi a light training week, and then will start getting the horse ready to race at the Summerside Lobster Carnival in July.