The draw for the 2018 Western Regional Driving Championship, which will take place this Saturday (June 23) at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, is now complete.

First race post time for Saturday's card of harness racing is 1:15 p.m. local time or 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time. The following drivers will be participating in the Western Regional Driving Championship:

Due to the number of horses entered to race Saturday, the eight drivers will participate in six competition races and the draw was an open draw for all six WRDC races.

“In general we're short of horses, the track had some issues recently and it's a long season. We can only play with the cards that are dealt,” said Jackson Wittup, Race Secretary for Century Downs. “That said, Century Downs is once again very pleased to be part of the World Driving Championship process.”

The WRDC races will take place in races 3 to 8. To view Saturday's entries, click on one of the following links: Century Downs - Saturday Entries - Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

Drivers will receive points based on their finishing position and the top two drivers will join six other drivers at the 2018 National Driving Championship (NDC) at Grand River Raceway on Wednesday, September 26.

The winner of the 2018 NDC will have the opportunity to represent Canada in the World Driving Championship (WDC), and join 2017 World Driving Champion, James MacDonald, in the 2019 WDC in Sweden.

SCORING

The Regional Driving Championships and the National Driving Championship will adapt the point system utilized in the World Driving Championship. Points will be awarded on the order of finish as follows:

Number of Starters 8:
15 (1), 10 (2), 7 (3), 5 (4), 4 (5), 3 (6), 2 (7), 1 (8).

Number of Starters 7:
14 (1), 9 (2), 6 (3), 4 (4), 3 (5), 2 (6), 1 (7).

In the event of a scratch, the driving rep drawn to a horse shall drive the ‘also eligible’ horse.

In the event of a horse being scratched or where no horse is available, five (5) points shall be awarded to the driver concerned. If a horse is disqualified or a horse and driver fail to complete the race, they will receive one (1) point.

In the event of a dead heat for any placing in any race the points for the horses involved will be added together and divided equally among the drivers concerned (eg. If there’s a dead heat for third between two horses, the points for third and fourth place will be added and divided among the drivers)