There were lots of warm welcomes when Fort Erie Race Track’s dirt oval opened for training on April 14 and the usual crowd of trainers and riders returned from the off-season.
“It’s always great to be back. We’re like a big family here in the backstretch, so to see everyone again is a lot of fun,” said Ken Albu, a longtime trainer at Fort Erie with more than 1,600 starts since 2001. Albu has 10 horses at the track already, and said he expects to have 18 by mid-season after making a few claims. “Most of my horses, I’m in no hurry to get straight into a race, but I’ve got one that’s looking really good already so I’ll have him take a run at that cup on opening day,” he said.
Opening Day at Fort Erie Race Track is set for May 28 and features two big $30,000 cup races, the Sprint Into Summer Cup, and the Summer Solstice Cup, followed by a free concert with Revive The Rose (sponsored by Revel Realty’s Casey Langelaan and Marge Ott) after the races. All the usual events will be returning to the track this summer, including wiener dog races on July 21, basset hound and corgi races on Aug. 18, and of course the track’s signature race, the Prince of Wales Stakes, on Sept. 10.
The track also added an extra Sunday of racing on July 7, which will run alongside a new event this year, Fort Foodie Fest, where dozens of food trucks and local culinary masters will set up shop at the track to offer a variety of tasty dishes and treats.
“The Sunday races are great because the track is always so busy, the local fans seem to really enjoy those weekend races,” said Albu, who won’t be the only one in the hunt for a cup race on Opening Day.
Paula Loescher, another longtime Fort Erie trainer who has racked up nearly 200 first place finishes over the past two decades, also has an eye towards the Opening Day cups.
“I’ve got one coming down from Florida soon who’s real fast, so I’ll have him take a shot at that cup,” said Loescher, as she watched one of her horses breeze past.
Despite three straight days of rain leading up to the track opening for spring training, there was lots of activity on the historic border oval.
“The track is looking gorgeous even with this weather, the boys did a really good job getting it ready for us,” she said.
For a full live racing schedule, and a complete list of events and stakes races, visit www.forterieracing.com
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