There are few feature races that have a starting time of 11.58pm — yes, that’s right two minutes to midnight — but that's the case for the Gold Cup and Saucer Invitational Pace.
It's held on Saturday night (local time) at Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island, one of the eastern Canadian maritime provinces.
Boasting a record purse of $100,000, the Gold Cup and Saucer is the finale of Old Home Week in Charlottetown and the highlight of the 2022 racing season on the Island.
First held in 1960, the Gold Cup and Saucer got its name by combining the major horse racing events the Cheltenham Gold Cup in England and the Cup and Saucer Stakes in Ontario.
The trophy itself features six decades of winners on it on little plaques along the side. It also has an actual gold cup and saucer — although it's not real gold — as well as little horses and drivers.
The annual classic attracts leading pacers from across North America.
Three heats were contested last weekend with the former Perth pacer Patrickthepiranha winning the last heat in 1:51.6. He will attempt the join the NZ bred Rock Diamonds (2019) as the only ‘down under’ pacers to lift the coveted trophy.
The Gold Cup and Saucer final is expected to draw around 20,000 spectators.
"The excitement and the buzz, there's nothing like it," said Lee Drake, manager of racing and broadcast at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino.
"It's not dubbed the greatest show in racing for nothing.”
Canadian harness racing historian Jerry McCabe said: “This is our Stanley Cup. If you won the lottery, you'd want to buy a horse to win the Gold Cup.”