Grand River Wraps Up Big Year

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Published: September 29, 2014 08:27 pm EDT

Grand River Raceway staged its final race night of the 48-day meet on September 29, and it’s proven to be a successful year at the track.

Despite fewer races and fewer cards, the average bet per race jumped 17.8 percent in 2014 compared to 2013. Total wagering on Grand River Raceway is up 6.7 percent from just under $6.5 million in 2013 to $6.9 million this year, based on the first 48 race dates of 2013.

On the track, nothing topped Hall of Fame driver John Campbell and Hall of Fame trainer Bob McIntosh teaming up to win the $217,140 Battle of Waterloo Aug. 4 with McIntosh’s two-year-old homebred pacing colt Go Daddy Go. It was the first Battle of Waterloo victory for both men.

“I haven’t started that many in it, but it feels tremendous,” McIntosh said in the winner’s circle. “It’s a real thrill.”

Campbell said the victory felt great. “It’s been a fun day for me and it’s capped off extremely well,” he said.

This year also marked Campbell’s first trip to Grand River and he liked what he saw.

“I got a tour before the races started here and it’s very efficient and very convenient for fans. It looks like a very nice plant,” Campbell said.

The Grand River meet also saw rising star James MacDonald win his first premier stakes race at the track when he drove 20-1 longshot Win The Gold to victory in the Battle of the Belles for trainer Tony O’Sullivan.

In August, Grand River’s general manager Dr. Ted Clarke was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in the builders’ category.

That same month, Jet Airway set a track record for three-year-old pacing colts when he buzzed the Grand River oval in 1:51.1. Five other horses also set Canadian seasonal records at the track.

On the drivers’ side, Trevor Henry was again crowned the top Grand River driver for both wins and money.

Casie Coleman was Grand River’s top money-winning trainer and Richard Moreau led all trainers in wins at the track by a wide margin.

And this year, we also learned important information such as what three people driver Scott Coulter would enlist to thwart a zombie apocalypse.

“I’m going to take Clint Eastwood,” Coulter said, “Superman and throw Sly Stallone in there, too. Why not?”

We also discovered what Randy Waples would be doing if he wasn’t driving horses for a living —“At one time, being a surfer sounded pretty good. I liked the idea of that.” — what music trainer Casie Coleman thinks Satan has playing on repeat in her version of hell — “Anything country, probably.” — and what James MacDonald does better than his two famous driving brothers, Anthony and Mark — “Golf, that’s for sure, because they’re both horrible.”

Leona Ruddock of Kitchener, ON was the grand prize winner in the finale of the track’s handicapping contest. The Grand River regular beat 109 fellow handicappers to claim a spot in the $50,000 World Harness Handicapping Championship at The Meadowlands Racetrack in April 2015.

Ruddock scored a bankroll of $92.90 with hypothetical $2 win and place bets on races two through seven. A 23-1 whopper in race six solidified Ruddock’s win when trotter Lady Is A Pirate and Tyler Borth lit up the toteboard with a three-quarter length score in a new season’s best of 2:00.2.

Finishing second through fifth in the contest and winning a $50 HorsePlayer Interactive cash card were John Dametto, Stuart Perry, Thomas Lane and Larry Lougheed.

Live racing returns to Grand River Raceway on June 1, 2015.

To hear the conversation with some of the most prominent drivers and trainers in the game, check out Grand River Raceway's weekly podcast, the Harness Racing Report, produced for Grand River Raceway by award-winning journalist Dave Briggs, by clicking the orange play button below.

(Grand River Raceway)

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