Six drivers on Grand River Raceway’s richest card to date will meet the public and distribute commemorative pens during a special Meet ‘N Greet on Saturday, September 29.
Sylvain Filion, Doug McNair, James MacDonald, Anthony MacDonald, Scott Coulter and Trevor Henry will gather in the lobby of the main building from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Pens are available only while supplies last.
The six reinsmen will handle many of the top contenders in Saturday’s Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Grassroots Championships. The event features eight $100,000 division finals in the Grassroots Series of the OSS program.
Filion and Henry are currently in tight contention for the Lampman Cup (awarded annually to the top point-earning driver in the Ontario Sires Stakes). Filion leads the charge to his first Cup with 443 points, and Henry – a two-time winner of the honour – is in the runner-up spot with 404.
Henry is also the top dash-winning driver at Grand River Raceway with 108 wins and $650,000 in purse earnings.
Filion has a drive in each of the eight finals, including a seat behind Gotta Secret. He steered the freshman trotting colt to a new track record of 1:58.1 in last week’s semifinals.
Doug McNair will pilot six OSS finalists. His prospects include three of the four hopefuls campaigned by his father, Gregg McNair, including Jet Speed who set a new track record for sophomore pacing fillies with a 1:53.2 semifinals romp.
Brothers Anthony MacDonald and James MacDonald have eight OSS drives between them on Saturday night, but their paths will cross only once. When they do, it may be déjà vu. In race nine, Anthony drives Ill Be There, which finished second to James with semifinal winner Touchdown Toss.
Scott Coulter will pilot five starters on Saturday’s card, including Oaklea Uptown in the hot sophomore trotting colts’ division against the MacDonald brothers.
The OSS Driver Meet ‘N Greet runs from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 in the lobby of the main building. Post time for race one is 7:05 p.m.
(Grand River Raceway)
To view entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Grand River Raceway.