Harness Players Newsletter Season Two Vol. 14 presented by Century Downs
June 13, 2025
It’s NA Cup week, so we have double Harness Players Podcasts on the network as Century Downs has a big weekend rolling for Father’s Day. Century will get you primed this Saturday for a huge day of harness racing with a 2:45 p.m. post for 10 races. The early Pick 5 looks tough to navigate, and Murray Slough and I do our best on the pod to help find the winning combo. Century is also racing Sunday this weekend with a 9-race card at the usual 2:45 p.m. post. Murray said the horse population is robust in Calgary, and they are adding dates to the calendar this season, which is fantastic news for those following the product. Don’t sleep on Century Downs with big fields, competitive races that have been producing carryovers on the regular.
We have you covered this week. Also, please note a new idea for the ITM Plus subscribers - we will be sending the notes from the harness pods to the subscribers weekly, highlighting the picks from the handicappers just as we do for the thoroughbred players. If you are interested in more coverage, check out inthemoneypodcast.com/plus for more info.
~Mikee P.
An article written by Matthew Lomon was shared with me regarding the NA Cup and driver Doug Brown via Kawartha Downs, and I thought I would share it here:
As North American harness racing’s richest race in purse value and prestige, the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup – a showdown between the continent’s finest drivers and 3-year-old pacers – is the ultimate test in performing under pressure. Few have lived the chase for the seven-figure fixture and Standardbred immortality like Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer Doug Brown. “If you ask somebody what it's like driving in a big race and they tell you it's just another race, they're full of it,” laughed Brown, who appeared in 14 NA Cups (fourth-most all-time) over his illustrious career. “You're over a million bucks, it's not just another race. Just like these guys playing in the Stanley Cup, it's a lot more pressure than playing a regular season game. This is no different.” Ahead of the top-flight tilt’s 42nd renewal on Saturday, June 14 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the man with over 8,500 driving wins and $90 million in purse earnings on his sterling resume shared his perspective on the sport’s biggest stage. Brown contested his first NA Cup in 1985 – three years after his triumphant professional debut as a 17-year-old at Kawartha – finishing seventh with Shawnee Almahurst.
The Oshawa, Ontario native returned the following year, landing in eighth, before coming back in 1987 to compete for his great friend and longtime racing partner, Stew Firlotte. “I drove my first horse for Stew at Kawartha,” said Brown, who also recorded his 8,000th victory at the Fraserville, Ontario oval in October 2004. “His driver didn't show up, so he asked me if I'd drive. I said sure, and we were racing partners for 35 years. It was awesome – we were best friends. He and his wife, Joanne, were godparents to one of our kids. “That NA Cup [1987] I drove a little Ontario-bred called Rare Review. Back then, the Ontario-breds just couldn't compete with the American-breds, and he ended up finishing third in the Final.” Following a hiatus in 1988, Brown drew back in for the ’89 edition, having driven three in the elimination stage – all of which made the final.
The choice was his.
“I picked Raque Bogart, and he finished third. One of the horses I drove in the Elims, Goalie Jeff, ended up winning, so I made a boo-boo there,” he joked. The closest Brown came to NA Cup glory was in 1990, when he finished a head behind Apaches Fame with bay colt Mark Johnathan. While Brown’s trophy case doesn’t include an NA Cup, it’s packed to the brim with other major accolades. The revered reinsman collected five Breeders Crown titles, including back-to-back championships with Town Pro, the 1997 World Trotting Derby with Lord Stormont, the 1993 Metro Pace (Historic), and the 2001 Maple Leaf Trotting Classic (Plesac), amongst more. Several of Brown’s titles overlapped with his NA Cup appearances, which offered invaluable insights one year to the next. “You have to rely on instinct. If you have a plan, it usually changes as soon as the gate leaves,” he explained. “You can go over the race so many times, check out the other horses, predict how the other drivers are going to race them, but it only takes one guy to change his mind and the complexity of the race.”
Brown’s advice for navigating the uncertainty? “Do what you think is best right off the gate, adapt the best you can, and hopefully everything will fall into place.”
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Celebrate harness racing’s grandest occasion at Kawartha Downs’ NA Cup Watch Party on Saturday, June 14.
Enjoy the main event alongside a night of live racing at Kawartha that includes free giveaways, prize draws, and a special Yuk Yuk’s Father’s Day Comedy Show and Dinner.
First race post is 6:00 p.m. at Kawartha, 6:35 p.m. at Mohawk, and 10:35 p.m. (approx.) for the NA Cup.
Spot Plays and Multi-leg wager ideas presented by Nahupicks.com For the weekend of 6/13-6/14
Harness Players’ Podcast | 6/12/25 | North America Cup Night + Century Early Pick 5
In this episode of the Harness Players’ Podcast, join Ray Cotolo for a discussion of the stakes action at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (June 14) headlined by the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup. Ray Cotolo hosts an analysis of those races with Horseplayer’s Journal author Garnet Barnsdale & Woodbine Mohawk Park contributor John Rallis.
Later in the show, Mikee P brings Murray Slough onto the mic to look at the Early Pick 5 sequence at Century Downs for Saturday (June 14).
New Creakside Chat dropped this week for our friends at Diamond Creek Farm
You can also catch the Audio version on the Black ITM Podcast Feed.
