Jamie Laboucane – Track Record Run On Night 1 In Calgary
Photo By Shellie Scott
Stampede 2023 kicked off on Friday night in Calgary with the running of the Calgary Stampede Cowboys Rangeland Derby. It was a beautiful evening for racing, and running times were quick as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede. Some outstanding races were seen by the capacity crowd, and when the sun went down on Calgary, Jamie Laboucane, driving the Cowboy’s Music Festival outfit, opened up Stampede 2023 with a new track record run of 1:11.43.
Coming off barrel number 2 in the 8th heat, Laboucane won the day money by just 9 one-hundredths of a second over last week’s Ponoka Stampede Champion Chanse Vigen. Four-Time Rangeland Derby Champion Kurt Bensmiller grabbed third place on the night while reigning World Champion Layne MacGillivray and former Rangeland Derby Finalist Rae Croteau Jr. split fourth and fifth on opening night. Laboucane beat the old track record of 1:11.71 set by Chane Vigen in 2022 by 28 one-hundredths of a second.
The top 3 in the aggregate after Saturday, July 15, 2023, will go into the championship final heat. The winner of the championship final heat will be declared the 2023 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion.
Live coverage of day 2 of the 2023 Cowboys Rangeland Derby can be heard on WPCA Radio starting 7:45pm Mountain time on Real Country 910am and can be seen on Sportsnet One starting at 8:30pm local time. Check your local listings.
Billy Melville
