On Sunday (December 10), former harness driver Norm McKnight Jr. claimed the trainer's title for the 2017 Thoroughbred meet at Woodbine Racetrack. He sealed the deal during the meet-closing card, as pupils from his outfit won five of the 14 races on the program.
In his 19th year as a Thoroughbred trainer, McKnight capped his career year with 99 wins, three wins more than the 2016 leading trainer Mark Casse. Casse, once again, topped all trainers for earnings with more than $6.9 million in purses and won a meet-leading 18 stakes, including his second consecutive $800,000 Ricoh Woodbine Mile (Grade 1) on September 16 with Live Oak Plantation’s World Approval, who went on to Breeders’ Cup glory. The final podium position went to trainer Kevin Attard, who finished the meet just one win ahead of Martin Drexler and Sid Attard with 43 victories.
McKnight has over 500 wins as a trainer and celebrated his first $2-million season. The son of harness driver Norm Sr., McKnight was riding show horses and drove his first Standardbred when he was 12 years old. As a driver, he won roughly 1,500 races before trading tack and training Thoroughbreds.
Live Thoroughbred racing will return to Woodbine next spring (on Saturday, April 21, 2018), while Standardbred racing will continue to run four days a week at Woodbine throughout the winter months and will return to its permanent home at Woodbine, Mohawk Park in April 2018 for racing all year round.
(With files from WEG)