The final card of Leamington Raceway’s 2019 live meet went postward on Sunday (Oct. 27) and was headlined by the $7,000 Lakeshore Open Pace. After having toyed with his competition early, the odds-on favourite in the tilt put on quite a back-half display in the feature.

The heavy favourite in question was the James Watt-trained and Drew Neill-driven Sportsline ($2.60). The three-year-old Sportswriter colt started from Post 5 in Race 8 and was first down to the :28 quarter pole and clicked off the front half in :59.1.

Sportsline had held a one-length lead through the opening half, but he had increased his lead to three lengths by the time he paced three quarters in 1:28.1. After that point, it was ‘game over’ for his rivals.

Sportsline had stretched his lead to 10 lengths by the time he hit the top of the stretch. From there, he tacked on another length for good measure, as Sportsline was 11 lengths the best by the time he cruised under the wire in 1:57.2. NJs Trick Pistol (who was driven by Marc St. Louis Jr.) finished second and Oldfriendskentucky (Nick Steward) rounded out the top three.

Watt, of Clinton, Ont., owns Sportsline along with Craig Parrott, of Windsor, Ont.

The $4,600 Terry McDonnell Memorial (Race 6) served as the co-feature on the program, and it was the Gordon McDonnell-trained and Tyler Borth-driven West River Cindy ($3.20) that converted a pocket trip and notched a 2:02.1 victory. The four-year-old Armbro Barrister mare is owned by Gordon McDonnell (of Kingsville, Ont.), Desmond Robinet (Windsor, Ont.) and Michael Cecile (Windsor, Ont.).

Marc St. Louis was the leading driver of the meet with 35 wins. Tyler Borth finished second with 18 wins, while Nick Steward rounded out the top three with 17 victories.

Danielle St. Louis was the leading trainer of the meet with 12 wins, followed by a tie for second with George Robinson and Gordon McDonnell both winning 10 times this meet.

Numbers were upon the wagering side for Leamington as well as the other Regional racetracks in Southwestern Ontario.

"With Leamington Raceway concluding its racing season last weekend, the 2019 racing season for all three of the Southwestern Regional racetracks is now over. All three tracks handle is up year over year with Hiawatha up 4.2 percent, Dresden up 4.9 percent and Leamington up 21 percent," said Leamington's General Manager Wayne Martinuik.

To view the harness racing results for Sunday at Leamington, click the following link: Sunday Results – Leamington Raceway.