Local harness racing driver James MacDonald became a world champion this summer.
For 10 days in August he competed against the best of the best and emerged victorious at the 2017 World Driving Championships.
“It was a lot of fun,” said MacDonald.
“I’m from Prince Edward Island so that’s where the last leg was; that was unbelievable, I … couldn’t have dreamed of a better spot to do it, so it was amazing – something I’ll definitely never forget.”
Growing up in PEI, MacDonald, 31, was a self-proclaimed “track-rat,” having spent his childhood at the racetrack.
“My family’s been involved in it forever. My mom takes the pictures still at the racetrack in Charlottetown, my dad’s got broodmares and my brothers are all involved, so we’ve been in it … since we were born,” he said.
“I couldn’t help but be involved in it.”
Yet it wasn’t until he moved to Ontario that MacDonald began driving.
“I moved up here after I finished high school to work for my brother Anthony and then I worked for him for a couple years and I trained for a couple years and then I started driving when I was 23,” he said.
His first race was at Georgian Downs in Barrie and his first win was in PEI the same week.
“I went back home for a long weekend and I got a drive and ended up winning,” he said.
“I think I maybe only have three wins in PEI, but they were some of my biggest ones.”
Driving was always MacDonald’s ultimate goal.
“Anyone that’s been involved in horse racing, that’s kind of where they want to get to,” he said.
“If you can drive horses it’s amazing and if you can do it to where you can make a living at it … any kid that’s been involved in harness racing that’s kind of your dream.”
MacDonald’s road to the Canadian Driving Championship began last fall when he competed in a regional tournament at Grand River Raceway against other Central Ontario drivers.
MacDonald took the win and Trevor Henry came in second. They both then competed in the national championships in London last fall and MacDonald placed second, meaning he did not earn a spot in the world championship.
However, when the first place driver was eliminated MacDonald got his chance. The catch? He learned about it two weeks before the World Driving Championship was set to begin in Calgary.
He told the trainers for whom he usually drove that he would be away for about 10 days and he said they were understanding.
“This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity … you never know when you’re going to get to represent your country so I had to take it,” he said.
“I was lucky, this year it was held in Canada.
“I had a knowledge of a lot of the horses I was going to be driving and racing against so that helped definitely for sure.”
There were 11 drivers in the competition: two from New Zealand (the defending World Champion and national champion), one from Australia, one from Austria, one from Belgium, one from Finland, one from Malta, one from Norway, and one from the U.S. They all raced each other in 22 races during the championship.
MacDonald explained that there were post positions from one to 11 and each driver had to start in each post position twice. However, choosing a horse was a completely random process.
The championship began at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary on Aug. 12, then continued at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville on Aug. 14, Georgian Downs in Innisfil on Aug. 15, Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on Aug. 16, and Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park in Prince Edward Island.
The international competition brought different challenges for MacDonald.
“The North American style of racing is completely different than the European or the Australian and the New Zealand, any of those different countries,” he said.
“They’re used to sitting three-wide the whole mile and just kind of waiting whereas in North America it’s more of a single-file style of racing.
“You had to have a quick learning curve and just be able to go with the flow and see what happens.”
While his friends and family where there to support MacDonald in Charlottetown, he said the outpouring of support from across Canada throughout the entire championship was a surprise.
“When you race horses you usually have maybe five per cent of the people cheering for you; the rest are cheering for someone else or they’re indifferent,” MacDonald said.
“Well this was like 97% of everyone at the track was cheering for me so … it was a lot of fun.
“It was something I’ll never forget and never probably experience again.”
The Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park was a sea of red and white on Aug. 16 when MacDonald completed the last leg of the championship and earned his win.
“Every time I would go by the grandstand the crowd would go crazy,” he said.
“I can’t even describe to you how much fun it was and what a great experience it was.”
MacDonald won $25,000 but doesn’t have any plan yet for how he’s planning to spend the money.
He is also guaranteed a spot in the next World Driving Championships in two years in Sweden.
“I’ve never been anywhere overseas so it will be a lot of fun,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully I can get it done again.”
Until then MacDonald will be “back to the grind with everyday racing,” he said.
He races at Mohawk five days a week.
On Sundays and Wednesdays he said he will compete in stakes races at different tracks, including Grand River Raceway.
He drives for Mark Steacy Stable and whatever other drives he picks up.
“I drive between seven and ten different horses a night and usually of those seven or 10 it’s usually for five or six different trainers,” MacDonald said.
