Grand River Raceway staged its 26th annual Industry Day celebration on the afternoon of Aug. 1.
The fan-favourite event saw a record handle of $481,230 wagered on the 11-race card, an increase of 54 per cent over the record set in 2015. A crowd of approximately 4,000 people on-track wagered $87,890.
8th annual Battle Of The Belles
James MacDonald captured his second Battle Of The Belles title with Bid Writer when he held on to win by a head over betting favourite Aint Three OK with Trevor Henry.
The Sportswriter filly granted trainer Jeff Gillis his first win in the race. He shares ownership of the pacer with Mac Nichol and Gerald Stay.
Bid Writer is a winner in three of her four rookie starts for $76,300.
19th annual Battle Of Waterloo
Sports Column granted trainer Blake MacIntosh and driver Chris Christoforou their first Battle Of Waterloo victories. The Sportswriter colt put in a commanding front-end effort to take the $159,500 dash for Ontario-sired two-year-old pacing colts and geldings in 1:55.4.
The win was Sports Column’s third win from five starts and boosted his bankroll to $169,500 for MacIntosh who co-owns the pacer with Hutt Racing Stable and Daniel Plouffe.
Happy Trio with Sylvain Filion finished three lengths back in second and Aston Hill Dave was third with Doug McNair.
Bill McDonnell Memorial Race
After a mid-afternoon rain shower, the $12,500 Bill McDonnell Memorial Invitation Pace was held to honour the memory of the former member of the Grand River Agricultural Society board and director of the Ontario Racing Commission who passed away September 2015 at 79.
“It’s very emotional,” said Marlene McDonnell, who was on hand for the Industry Day celebrations and the race named after her late husband.
“But I know that this would be the biggest honour; there just isn’t any greater. He would be so pleased.”
The race was won by the front-end strider Saulsbrook Peach and driver Robert Shepherd who lead from start to finish.
Lets Wait And See (Nick Steward) tipped out near the third quarter mark and came on to finish second. Rise Up Now (Sylvain Filion), the 6-5 favourite, followed in third off a pocket trip.
Industry Day Bouncy Pony Stakes
Five races prior to his Battle Of The Belles win, driver James MacDonald was unseated from his throne as the winner of five consecutive Industry Day Bouncy Pony Stakes.
Agreeing to level the playing field, MacDonald raced the 30 metre dash with two eyepatches. Despite being unable to see the racecourse, MacDonald hung on to be nipped at the finish by newcomer Tyler Jones, with Bob McClure and J Harris close behind.
The Best In Show competition sponsored by the Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA) awarded $1,500 to the caretakers of horses racing on the Industry Day card. Fifteen prizes of $100 were presented to the top five in each of the following categories:
Best Of Show Head-To-Toe; Horse & Groom; Above & Beyond (braids, sparkles, etc.).
The winners were: Bailey Wright, John Archer, Alyshia Williamson, Bernard Lavigne, Natasha Day, Dillyn Jackson, Rick Welsh, Jessica Breese, Tiffany Stein, Emily Auger, Leslie Harris, Steph Horner, Tracy Roberts, Katie Miller, Nicole Pedden, and Vicki Paulic.
A garage sale offering assorted horse and horse-racing memorabilia and collectibles raised more than $1,041 for the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society.
