Vincent Delaney Memorial, Tir Prince

ONE area where harness racing lags behind thoroughbred racing is on the social side. At most meetings there is no corporate tent, you can’t get a sit-down meal, and there are no such thing as celebrity tipsters.

The Vincent Delaney Memorial meeting tries to right all these wrongs at one time. The VDM bash, for those with the right pass, must aim to rival the Prix d’Amerique (Paris) the Elitlopp (Stockholm) or the Inter Dominion Championships (Australia) in terms of grandeur.

Main sponsor and organiser Derek Delaney is a driven man. If he is not wheeling and dealing at Oakwood Stud or Oakwood Bloodstock Services, he is planning ahead for the next race in memory of his brother – a fit young Dubliner who died of a heart attack at 27.

“The 2023 meeting was the most successful to date. We smashed a lot of our own records. Nominations, entries, attendance, bar takings, et cetera, were all up. The purse fund of £141,000 (€165,000) was a new high. I would like to thank the Tir Prince management, the committee and sponsors old and new for their support,‘’ was Derek’s comment for The Irish Field.

The 2023 meeting saw runners from gentlemanly John Richardson on the track. Derek flies in Ohio-based commentator Roger Huston to call the races.

The 81-year-old has called 182,000 races across 157 different tracks. Roger still found time to pay JR a huge compliment. ‘’It was great to see John Richardson back at the races – he has been badly missed.”

Experienced callers

“The Voice” as Roger is known, shared the microphone with thoroughbred commentator Darren Owen.

The two experienced callers also blooded Stephen Lees, son of the great driver Stevie Lees, in public when they let him call a minor race. The announcers’ booth is in safe hands when Roger and Darren hang up their binoculars.

Heather Wilder, wife of leading US driver Mike Wilder, conducted some of the post-race interviews alongside usual host Mandy Stanley. My old Irish teacher would be proud that Heather asked me how to pronounce ‘Rugadh Me Reidh’.

In an emotional interview Suzie Dupler Telle from Florida explained that her late husband Ed wanted to come to a VDM before Covid intervened.

The horseman intended to donate a free service by his Jug winning stallion Big Bad John before he passed away. In Ed’s honour the family endorsed the Junior Free-For-All i.e., race for just-below-top-class.

John Ball from London, who raced at the ill-fated Prestatyn track in the 1960s, took a corporate table. Dave Wilson from Edinburgh, another founding father, also hosted a party.

Best Dressed Lady

As mentioned elsewhere Carmel Stewart from Coleraine, a tireless compiler of videos and results, was runner-up in the Best Dressed Lady. For followers of such matters, Carmel wore a cobalt blue dress from The Winsome Lady in Ballymoney. Pauline’s Restaurant of Edenderry sponsored the competition.

Patrons paying the basic admission seemed satisfied. The betting ring was strong with a good mix of winning hotpots and shock results. Dublin-based George Murphy and The Rising Sons played everything from Paul Brady to Aslan.

The band earned their corn, alternating between the marquee and the main enclosure.