Canadian representative Jody Jamieson won the 2011 World Driving Championship of harness racing on Friday night after cumulating the most points at the end of the five day, 20 race competition hosted by the United States Trotting Association
.
The 34-year-old resident of Moffat, Ont. earned six wins, three seconds and one third place finish during the competition for a total of 169 points, beating out nine other international driving stars. U.S.A.'s Corey Callahan finished second with 153.5 points and Spain's Juan Antonio Riera-Rossello was third with 151 points.
Jamieson kicked off the World Driving Championship with one win and a second place finish in the first leg of the competition on Sunday afternoon at Harrah’s Chester, ultimately ending the day with enough points to claim the top spot in the standings.
With a pair of top three finishes during the second leg on Monday night at Tioga Downs, Jamieson finished the leg sitting a close second in the overall point standings.
He then slipped to sixth place after failing to hit the board during a tough third leg on Wednesday afternoon at Monticello Raceway, but rebounded in the next round with a near perfect record.
Jamieson dominated the competition on Thursday at the Meadowlands Racetrack winning three of the four races and finishing second in his other start that evening to propel himself back to the top of the leaderboard.
During the final leg of the competition on Friday night at Yonkers Raceway, Jamieson earned two more wins to secure an insurmountable lead in the standings before the final race and earn the World Driving Championship crown.
"I can't explain how excited I am to be the World Driving Champion," said Jamieson after his crowning moment. "I couldn't be prouder. I thought I was the best driver. I think everyone thinks they're the best. You have to. My strategy was to watch videotape. I watched four or five hours of tape in the last few days in preparation for this.
"When I went into the regional I did think I'd get here," admitted the two-time O'Brien Award winning driver. "It's huge to win the regional, the national and now the international competition, but why enter if you don't think you'll win it."
Jamieson, who won the Ulf Thoresen Trophy and a cheque for $25,000 along with the title, shared his excitement after the triumph with his family.
"I texted my daughter Hailey at home and told her her Dad's a world champion. Jett may not know it yet, but this is something I can tell him about when he's a little older," said Jamieson of his young daughter and new baby boy.
Jamieson, the leading driver on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit for both wins and money, won the Ontario Regional Driving Championship at Western Fair Raceway at the end of March and the National Driving Championship at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park in early May to qualify to represent Canada in the World Driving Championship for the fourth time. He previously won the international title one decade ago in 2001 in Finland and Sweden, finished second in 2003 in Canada, and eighth in 2005 in Italy.
Jamieson’s win marked the fourth time Canada has captured the World Driving Championship title in 25 editions. Aside from Jamieson’s two titles, Sylvain Filion won the 1999 competition in Australia and Herve Filion won the very first championship in 1970, which was held in Canada and the U.S.
Jamieson will now aim to defend his title in the next World Driving Championship, to be held in France in 2013.
"I'm ecstatic to be going to France in two years," said the career winner of over 5,900 races and $81 million in purse earnings. "It's probably going to be one of the best World Driving Championships ever because it's in France. I've always wanted to go to France. I couldn't be happier."
Here is a look at the unofficial leaderboard:
25th World Driving Championship
Rank - Driver - Country (Points)
1. Jody Jamieson - Canada (169 pts)
2. Corey Callahan - U.S.A. (153.5 pts)
3. Juan Antonio Riera-Rossello - Spain (151 pts)
4. Dexter Dunn - New Zealand (143.5 pts)
5. Bjorn Goop - Sweden (133 pts)
6. Birger Jorgensen - Denmark (131 pts)
7. Franck Nivard - France (112 pts)
8. Enrico Bellei - Italy (110 pts)
9. Michael Nimczyk - Germany (93 pts)
10. Chris Lewis - Australia (91 pts)
all of canadian harness
all of canadian harness racing industry should be proud of jodys accomplishments this past week!! i was at every track,cheering him on,and can tell everyone,that,jody put
on a clinic,not only for his winning drives,but also for the way he handled his (not so good)finishes. he drove a bunch of horses that showed many breaks,last placed finishes,and quite a few horses moving way up in class!!, not to mention several outside
post positions.he simply had most of his horses in a great position coming for home,wich
is basically all anyone,(bettor,owner,trainers combined),can ask for!! he is a true pro-fessional,at the top of his sport,a great ambassador for harness racing,and a class act,representing canada.it was a great feeling,being in the winners circle when jody wrapped up his world title,one that i wont forget for a long time.singing our canadian
anthem,in the heart of yonkers n.y. was a very special moment,for all of us.
well done jody, you made us all proud!!!
If I can remember an old
If I can remember an old saying, in French, that I have applied, and still do, to Rick Zeron: Rick est tellement un bon conducteur que tu peux lui donner une vache et ‘pis’ il va la rentrer! I will say the same thing about Jody Jamieson: Jody is such a good driver that you can give him a cow and he’ll put her in! Congratulations Jody. Keep it up!
Huge thanks and
Huge thanks and congratulations to Jody Jamieson for delivering to us a boatload of Canadian pride!
Great job JODY. A great day
Great job JODY. A great day for you, your family, friends and country.
all the best, Mick
Great driving Jody once
Great driving Jody once again you proved you are the best!Hope you come down to Old Home Week and drive my horses.
way to go Jody,make canada
way to go Jody,make canada proud, I'ts a long way from the paris fair grounds with no licence. I'm very proud to have started you in your first race, congrats
EXCELLENT NEWS!!!! THE
EXCELLENT NEWS!!!! THE KING OF HARNESS RACING RULES
As for the remark Simon
As for the remark Simon Allard couldn't carry Jodie's whip ....didn't he compete in the competetion in Ontario...lol!
In reply to As for the remark Simon by Trottman
I was not comparing Simon to
I was not comparing Simon to Jody; Simon understands that to be the best you have to compete with the best!!
Congratulations, Jody!
Congratulations, Jody! You're not only super on the reins, you are a great ambassador for the sport and for Canada in general.
Mr. Wilkie, I guess you
Mr. Wilkie, I guess you didn't see the odds on some of the horses Jody drove. He was there because he beat the best in Canada and competed against the best in the world and beat them too.
In reply to Mr. Wilkie, I guess you by alg
I did see some of the odds
I did see some of the odds on some of the horses, but did you see he also drove 9 of 20 favorites?
In reply to I did see some of the odds by jpass
More than half were not
More than half were not favourites.
Don Patrick I don't really
Don Patrick
I don't really understand some of the negative comments. Jody is the best driver in Canada, hands down. While some of the top American drivers did not compete (didn't want to miss out on lucrative stakes races) Jody gave up his time, and substantial earnings, to represent Canada. Does anyone doubt that "Needy" wins the Battle of Waterloo if Jody stays home?
As for luck of the draw and post position, maybe that guy missed Jody winning from the 8 hole at Yonkers after being parked the mile. Or the horse who made a bobble from the rail, and yet won.
Jody gets it. There is more to life, and to racing, than just money.
congratulations JODY new you
congratulations JODY new you were all class when at a fair race you told me you con,t drive for me you forgot your colors (ha ha)but new a up coming young driver mike whaling
Congratulations Jody. You
Congratulations Jody. You truly are the ambassador for harness racing in Canada
The Sidney Crosby of harness
The Sidney Crosby of harness drivers! Great job Jody, the cream always rises to the top!
Congratulations jody on the
Congratulations jody on the great honor of WDC. We watched from Fredericton as you had a great night last night. You make us proud to be Canadian and proud to be involved in Canadian Harness Racing!
Congratulations, Jody! I
Congratulations, Jody! I have been following the competition all week and I saw just how consistent you had to be every night to beat what was literally a world-class field. You are a national hero!
Congratulations,Jody! You
Congratulations,Jody! You did an absolutely awesome job!May you have continued success in your career & take time to savour your accomplishments.
Congratulations Jody. Like I
Congratulations Jody. Like I said in an earlier post, Canadian drivers don't get enough credit. Well you just proved the critics wrong. way to go man
CONGRATULATIONS JODY AND
CONGRATULATIONS JODY AND CANADA!!!!
Murray Dell.Right On Mr
Murray Dell.Right On Mr Canada..
Big Congrats Jody..Your family will so Proud of you..(Im sure they are already)
You have set set some High standards for the rest of Standard Bred Industry.
Enjoy the Moment..You deserve it.
Congrats from Calgary
Congratulations Jody! I hope
Congratulations Jody! I hope you didn't hurt your arm to badly, patting yourself on the back.Thank God your marvelous career started after you moved to Ontario.
Jody, congratulations on an
Jody, congratulations on an awesome victory! We are all very happy for you and very proud of what you do for Canadian harness racing! Canadian Harness Racing loves Jody Jamieson!
THERE IS A YOUNG MAN CALLED
THERE IS A YOUNG MAN CALLED DOUBLE JAY
WHO DRIVES HIS HORSES IN THE BEST WAY
ROUND THE RACETRACK HE FLIES
AND COMES HOME WITH THE PRIZE
NOW CANADA'S SAYING HIP HIP HOORAY
NICE WORK JODY - WE'RE SO PROUD
Dale Leiska Congratulations
Dale Leiska
Congratulations on winning your second World Driving Championship.
You did Canada proud Jody and you truly are a remarkable Driver.
Larry
Larry Resnitzky
Congratulations Jody on your WDC triumph!. You continue to represent Atlantic Canada, Ontario, and the rest of Canada in a fine manner. You do much more than many for the benefit of harness racing when you promote the sport the way you do on the world stage.
We're all very proud of you.Keep doing what you're doing.
Larry Resnitzky
Managing Editor
Atlantic Post Calls
I also will type a huge
I also will type a huge CONGRATS to Jody and I guess to Carl as well for raising
an oustanding athelete! We (Canadians) may be better at this game than at hockey,
when on the world stage!
It is a little sad that there has been zero Media coverage that I have seen. Maybe,
there will be a short story in the Toronto Sun on Saturday.
Way to go Jody, we are all
Way to go Jody, we are all proud of you once again as you show the world what Canadians are made of.
Thank you Jody for doing
Thank you Jody for doing Canada proud, we as Canadians are proud of you. Twice WDC champ.
Congrats Jody!! you did
Congrats Jody!! you did Canada proud
Marie Stoyles-Moura