Casie Coleman, the premier woman in harness racing, is returning to Fraser Downs on Nov. 11.
In the male-dominated world of horseracing, Coleman is the undisputed queen with 254 wins and over $6 million in purse earnings. Impressive numbers for a young woman whose career started at the Cloverdale racetrack as she grew up around her parents' racing stable.
Since striking out on her own in 2001 she has seen phenomenal success. She is the first woman and a two-time winner of the prestigious O'Brien Award for outstanding horsemanship harness racing's version of an Oscar, and last December she passed the 1,000 milestone for number of wins.
But it's about Royal Jubilee Hospital Burn Unit that this visit to her hometown is all about. Coleman is coming home to thank them. In 2000, while working at the racetrack in Sidney, B.C. she was horribly burned in a freak fire and required three months in the Victoria hospital and skin grafts to 22 per cent of her body and now she wants to give something back to the people who saved her life and helped her when she needed it most.
"Those people at the hospital in Victoria put me back together," she says. "Now I have the opportunity to give something back."
Along with cash donations Coleman has been collecting items from her friends on the Ontario harness racing circuit for a silent auction that will be held in the Atrium at Fraser Downs with the money raised going directly to the Burn Unit at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
Along with the presence of Casie Coleman, November 11th, a special day for all Canadians, is also BC Breeders Classic Day at Fraser Downs with the British Columbia breeders showcasing their homebred talent vying for over $300,000 in purse money.
