Kelly wins celebratory race down Main Street
Race highlights
Freehold Raceway’s
150th year celebration

FARRAH MAFFAI staff Harold Kelly pulled out to the early lead and hung on to win the 150th anniversary celebration race in downtown Freehold on Saturday.

Harold Kelly got a view of Main Street Freehold Borough from behind a harness sulky on Saturday.

The 50-year harness racing veteran, who was Freehold Raceway’s leading driver in the 1960s and 1970s, participated in the special three-horse race down Main Street that was part of Freehold Raceway’s 150-year anniversary celebration.

The harness race track celebrated with a blast from the past, recreating racing as it was before Freehold Raceway came into existence in 1853. Amateur drivers used to race from the American Hotel to Moore’s Tavern to settle who had the fastest harness horse. Now, of course, they race on Freehold’s well-manicured, half-mile track.

To bring the sport back to its roots, Freehold Raceway staged a three-horse race down Main Street Saturday morning. Kelly took part in the race with Hall of Famer Cat Manzi, Freehold’s current leading driver, and Dennis Dowd, the former president of Freehold Raceway and an amateur driver himself.

The trio drove retired standardbred race horses in the race which began in front of the American Hotel and ended at the Freehold Raceway parking lot on Route 537. Like old-time racing, they used a standing start.

Kelly jumped out to the lead from the start and cruised down Main Street, which was lined with interested spectators, not having to worry about picking up a speeding ticket.

Dowd would finish second by the time they reached the parking lot and Manzi, third.

Each driver represented a different charity with the winner’s charity receiving a $500 check after the race. Kelly was representing the Old Freehold Day Committee.

New Egypt Mayor and state Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, the son of Hall of Famer Stanley Dancer, whose legendary career began at Freehold in the 1940s, was the official starter of the race.

Back at Freehold Raceway, the highlight of the sesquicentennial celebration was the $150,000 Battle of Freehold for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

Harry Hornet, with George Brennan in the bike, stung the field, taking the lead just before the opening quarter and wiring the field from there. Brennan took his charge through fractions of 27.2, 57.1 and 1:25.2 en route to a 1:54.4.

Art Director (Stephane Bouchard) was closing fast and was second by a neck at the finish.

Timesarechanging (Howard Parker) was the show horse in third place.

It was the first win in eight career tries for Harry Hornet, a son of Artsplace.