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     L ester Chappell was born in 1933 and 
     
    
   
   
    
     was involved with horses since he 
     
    

    
     was 15. One of his proudest 
     
     moments occurred on September 28, 
     
     1983 at the Summerside Raceway. On 
     
     that date, Lester drove Harry Robblee’s 
     
     Medastar to a 2:07 victory in the Western 
     
     Capitals Invitational Pace. Following the 
     
     race, Lester and Medastar were joined in 
     
     Victory Lane by the owner/trainer Harry 
     
     Robblee and his daughter, Linda. Earl 
     
     Cannon and Bob Dewar made a presen— 
     
     tation of a beautiful cooler on behalf of 
     
     the Western Capitals and SRW. That par— 
     
     ticular race “as significant because it por- 
     
     trayed grassroots harness racing and the 
     
     people who represented the backbone of 
     
     the int’lU-S‘II)’; The love of the standard— 
     
     bred and tlhe joy of competition were the 
     
     motivating factors for their involvement 
     
     in this wonderful sport and industry. 
     
    
   
   
    
     In July 2007, Walter Cheverie drove a 
     
     four—year—Qld mare, C .L. ’s Gracious Lady. 
     
     to victory in 2200.4 at the Summerside 
     
     Raceway. This race was significant 
     
     because it was Lester‘s last win as a train- 
     
     er. It was also very special because that 
     
     mare was owned by his friend of more 
     
     than 50 years, Collins Wood. 
     
    
   
   
    
     For almost six decades, Lester Chappell 
     
    
   
   
    
     Photos: Ann MacNeill 
     
     was associated with the equines. He 
     
     explained, “My father raced horses at the 
     
     track known then as Sunny Green Acres 
     
     in Springfield. He also raced his horses 
     
     on the road at that time against neighbors 
     
     for bragging rights in the community." 
     
     How many will remember this once very 
     
     active racetrack in Prince County? 
     
    
   
   
    
     The first horse that this exuberant horse— 
     
     man owned was a mare known as 
     
     Belinda Scott. Lester bought her from 
     
     Isaac Stewart for $50 with a $35 stud fee 
     
     already paid. She was to be bred to a 
     
     stallion owned by Linus Mulligan. Lester 
     
     stated, “She was a bad actor that they 
     
     couldn‘t handle so she became my pro— 
     
     ject. I raced her on the ice in Stanley 
     
     Bridge and on the North River Causeway. 
     
     She produced Doreen/allay and Billy C 
     
     Duds for me. Doreenjolliw was the first 
     
     horse that I took to the Summerside 
     
     Raceway to try to race. This wasn’t bad 
     
     for a net investment of $15! ” 
     
    
   
   
    
     This venerable horseman was involved 
     
     with hundreds of horses over the years 
     
     and remembering their names was often 
     
     a challenge; however, he did remember 
     
     racing a little white faced horse on a 
     
     matinee card at the Kensel Raceway in 
     
     Millvale. Lester also remembered that 
     
    
   
   
    
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