SATURDAY, August 10th and 11th, will see the 13th renewal of the Vincent Delaney Memorial Meeting. From its first tentative steps at Portmarnock (where it remained for a decade) through a successful move to Tir Prince Raceway, North Wales, the festival now moves to the complex at Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton,

A prize fund of £126,000 is up for grabs with championship races for two, three and four-year-old pacers featuring both colt and filly divisions. A free for all trot and a high grade trot will also take place.

The meeting is the brainchild of Coolock-born, but now owner of a successful harness racing stud (Oakwood Stud, Rhode, Co Offaly), Derek Delaney and his brother James. In 2011 the brothers instigated a two-year-old race in memory of Vincent who died of a heart attack at 27.

A host of sponsors too numerous to mention includes Hanover Shoe Farms, Diamond Creek Stud, The Hambletonian Society, Suzy Telle and The Meadowlands Racetrack all from the USA. Woodland Stud of New Zealand are a backer as are LPD Demolition who are local to the meeting.

On International Women’s Day 2023, the VDM Committee announced that the 2024 meeting would feature the Bernie Kelly Memorial Race for Lady Drivers. Bernie succumbed to cancer in 2019.

Hard-fought affair

Ten competitors from seven countries have been invited. The drivers listed below have won 1,600 races between them and the race will be a hard-fought affair.

“Bernie was a firecracker of a woman and it is only right that we run this race in her memory. The nominated charity for our meeting is Cancer Trials Ireland,” said Derek Delaney recently,

The Go Fund Me link for the charity is https://gofundme/299f4269

Casie Coleman, leading US trainer, will be in attendance and will feature in a meet the public session in the concourse. Roger Huston a long-time supporter of the meeting will call most of the races. He is known as The Voice Of Harness Racing and has made The Little Brown Jug every September his tour-de-force.

An organised group from American and Australian harness racing will explore Ireland before sailing to England. Leon Jurd, trainer and dealer, Janet Thorn (née Tritton), Mark Hall (USTA photographer), Rich Johnston (USTA), Heather Wilder (trainer and publicist), Doug McIntosh (trainer) and Christine Beinhauer are just some of the international visitors.

Admission is £25 per day with eight or nine races likely on Saturday and Sunday. Live stream can be purchased on the Vincent Delaney Memorial website.

A strong entry across all grades is expected from Ireland. The Kane, Murdock, McNevin and Roche youngsters seem to be finding their wings at the right time.