Francis Gerard McIsaac

Francis Gerard McIsaac was born in Fairview, PEI. As a youth he became involved in harness racing and eventually owned his own stable. He became one of the premiere names in the all time list of Maritime harness racing drivers. He died at the youthful age of 42 while engaged in his sport at the Saint John track. It was ironic that he died on the track as he had given so much to racing and had taken so little.

The humble, affable and sincere Francis McIsaac, rose quickly from racing obscurity to the ranks of the all time greats in Maritime harness racing. Through commitment, dedication and hard work, he built a reputation as one of the most talented and skilled competitors in the harness racing sport.

Francis McIsaac became only the third Island driver in the history of the sport to reach the 1,000 mark in victories. This was outstanding, in light of the short season in the Maritimes where he did most of his racing. He had a total of over 1400 heat wins and his records as such are recorded with others in the “World Famous Drivers” record book. He was the leading harness racing driver in the Maritimes in 1978 with 171 wins and $95,000 in prize money. In the same year, he finished in the top 50 among leading North American dash winning drivers, and was the leading dash winner at Exhibition Park Raceway in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Francis was also the leading dash winning at the Charlottetown Driving Park in 1977 and in 1978. Francis McIsaac was the leading driver at Old Home Week in Charlottetown in nine of the last ten years up to his death in 1979.