Samba Beat News Today

The streak of Shark Week is over.

Shark Week’s 17-race, 11-month unbeaten streak at Alberta’s top level of harness racing ended on Saturday (Apr. 27) at Century Downs as Bonus Round (Santanna Blue Chip) caught him in the $25,000 Preferred. Shark Week, the fastest horse in Western Canada history, went to the front as usual for Mike Hennessy and headed the field

After guiding Outlaw Blue Isle to her first Fillies & Mares Preferred win on Friday, Dave Kelly engineered the winning trip with stablemate Bonus Round in the Preferred Pace on Saturday, April 20 at Century Downs to give that pacer his first top class tally.

Daisy Corvette shined during the season finale on New Years Eve as the Shanisty Andres conditioned mare went gate-to-wire to take Saturday's (Dec. 31) $14,000 Fillies and Mares Preferred at Century Mile.

After a month away from the races, Shark Week made his return at Century Mile in the $14,000 Preferred Handicap Pace a winning one on Saturday, Dec. 9 to score his 14th straight victory.

Ernesto Delacruz followed a pocket trip before tipping out in the stretch and fending off a late charge to win the $14,000 Preferred Pace at Century Mile on Saturday, Nov. 18.

On North American harness racing tracks it’s all about speed over a mile trip, in Australia it’s a mix of both standing start and mobile features across a range of track sizes, in New Zealand it could be about an extreme two-mile contest or a grass track race featuring non-race winners and in Europe the

Samba Beat seems to like setting track records when the temperatures and times of year aren't typically suited for track record speed.

There was no shortage of action on the packed Saturday (Nov. 4) evening card at Century Mile with the ABSS Super Finals on tap as the main event with headliners featured by the longest win streak of the year extended by Shark Week and a $10 million career milestone earned by trainer Jamie Gray.

After posting a 32-1 upset in the elimination, Blue Star Mercury returned on Saturday (Oct. 21) evening at Century Mile to win the $110,710 Western Canada Pacing Derby from gate-to-wire.