Harness Race History at Confederation Cup XXXII

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On August 17th my friends and I watched Somebeachsomewhere make history at Confederation Cup XXXII, at Flamboro Downs, just outside of Hamilton Ontario.


Of course we had to park a half mile away from the Grandstand as we were late arriving (at about 12:30 pm) on Sunday August 17th, 2008 - but we soon got inside the air conditioned venue with plenty of time to place our bets on the Confederation Cup XXXII Final! More on that later.

My date went to find a decent hotdog and a better program for a souvenir, and I bought a cold drink and retired to the bleechers - it was actually hard to find a spot for once. The Grandstand was packed - this is how harness racing should be (used to be).

You know the focus of this blog post should be how ‘Somebeachsomewhere beat the field at the Confederation Cup Final on Sunday by four lengths to set a new world record!’ because that’s exactly what happened. Somebeachsomewhere is truly a spectacular Standardbred racehorse. A guy in the paddock told me that this horse will ‘go to stud’ for $10 million+.

A clear favourite to win on Sunday, there was really no action for novice (bet-2$-to-win) gamblers on Somebeachsomewhere. However - this was the perfect arena for more complicated betting * I’d like to credit my horse race betting skills on the simple horse racing game on this harness racing fan site.

The quality of the overall event and the the day's show must be attributed to the sulky drivers specifically Paul MacDonell. This was his fifth time winning the cup and that’s a record too.



An enormous crowd lined up against the rail and all up around our party. Everyone was cheering and clapping and I whistled profusely as Somebeachsomewhere crossed the finish line first. This incredible animal seemed so nonchalant about it; I hear people saying ‘Seabiscut’ and I suppose it’s this horse's gentle demeanor that’s steadily winning the hearts of more and more fans. I've seen him with my own eyes - this horse is helping harness racing. The crowd cheered again as Somebeachsomewhere returned to the winner’s circle moments later.

Santanna Blue Chip was second and The Mohegan Pan came third and Keystone Horatio was fourth. This is important because I had wagered $6 in a box bet triactor that centered on the last two horses coming 2nd and 3rd and Somebeachsomewhere as winner. This is a good strategy - take the favourite to win and then get funky with the other horses. Use a box bet to cover your butt. But unfortunately my fortunes were dashed when Santanna Blue Chip came 2nd! You see I was sure this horse would sink like a rock and not appear in the top three... I was wrong.

All the same it was a thrilling experience to be part of history and AMOST win big.

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