Gold Cup & Saucer race program postponed until Sunday night
Wet weather has caused all races planned for Saturday's to be moved to Sunday
The Gold Cup & Saucer race card scheduled for Saturday night is being postponed until Sunday night because of wet weather.
"This is the greatest show in harness racing and we make decisions based on safety and the best guest experience that we can offer," said Lee Drake, manager of marketing and brands at Red Shores.
Officials at the Charlottetown racetrack had already rescheduled Saturday's afternoon races, but had hoped the track would be dry enough for the races to go ahead Saturday evening.
Reminder: Live Harness Racing at 1pm today has been RESCHEDULED to 1pm on Sunday, August 19th. At this time, tonight's race card at 7pm, featuring The Guardian Gold Cup and Saucer, will run as scheduled. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HarnessRacing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HarnessRacing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PEI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PEI</a>
—@Red_Shores"It's all about the weather pattern, we've been watching it, and keeping a close eye on it," said Lee Drake, manager of marketing and brands at Red Shores.
Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for P.E.I., forecasting 30-40 mm of rain in Queens County during the afternoon with another 10-20 mm forecast for later in the day. The agency says rain will end late this evening.
"Really at the end of the day the system is not going to make any improvement till later this evening, and that's just not enough time to ensure we have the safety and the quality of what we want to put on," said Drake.
'Really excited'
Drake said the track was shut down Friday night after the final race with the hope that it would be in good enough condition to have Saturday night's races go ahead.
That's not the case, but he said he's excited for the doubleheader of racing cards on Sunday.
Due to severe weather: We will move the Guardian Gold Cup & Saucer race program to Sunday at 6pm. It’s now part of our double-header, with the afternoon scheduled at 12pm.<br>With this, all guests can enter with no gate fees, and the Red Shores main parking lot will be available. <a href="https://t.co/Hh0fwJMSd0">pic.twitter.com/Hh0fwJMSd0</a>
—@Red_Shores"We're looking forward now to a beautiful Sunday afternoon, a beautiful Sunday night under the lights and put this show on."
Everything that everyone expects to see and be here for that race will happen.— Lee Drake, Red Shores
The rescheduled afternoon races begin at noon Sunday, with the Gold Cup & Saucer race card starting at 6 p.m.
The delay also means there will be no gate fee since the midway set up for Old Home Week will be gone, and the Red Shores parking lot will be available.
Drake said apart from the times, nothing else about the races, or the experience will change.
"Everything that everyone expects to see and be here for that race will happen," he said.
"We're really excited about it."
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