Woodbine Entertainment, in partnership with Kraft-Heinz Canada, announced on Thursday (Aug. 6) the launch of the Heinz Challenge, a six-week series to be contested during Racing Night Live on TSN.

The Heinz Challenge pairs a top Woodbine Racetrack jockey with a top Woodbine Mohawk Park driver to create four teams competing for a $5,000 charitable donation from Woodbine.

Every time one of the participating jockeys or drivers competes during a race aired on Racing Night Live, they have the opportunity to earn points towards their team’s challenge score.

All eight participating athletes are ranked among the best in their sport and are well-known personalities at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park. The four competing jockeys are Rafael Hernandez, Kazushi Kimura, Justin Stein and Emma-Jayne Wilson, while the participating drivers are Jody Jamieson, Bob McClure, Doug McNair and Louis-Philippe Roy.

The team with the best ‘points per race’ average at the end of six weeks will win the challenge. The point system is as follows: 10 points for a win, 5 points for a second-place finish and 2 points for a third-place finish. For example, if Team A earns 50 points over 10 races: Team A’s points per race is 5.

Each member of the winning team will select a charity, and Woodbine Entertainment will make a $2,500 donation on their behalf to make up the $5,000 winning prize.

Woodbine Mohawk Park driver James MacDonald was originally scheduled to participate in the Heinz Challenge. MacDonald unfortunately suffered an injury in a racing accident on Aug. 1 and will be unable to participate. Louis-Philippe Roy has been selected to replace MacDonald, and the two will split the donation should their team win.

Here are the teams for the Heinz Challenge:

Team E=MC²
Jockey: Emma-Jayne Wilson
Driver: Bob McClure
#TeamEMC2

Team Club DJ
Jockey: Justin Stein
Driver: Doug McNair
#TeamClubDJ

Team Island Boyz
Jockey: Rafael Hernandez
Driver: James MacDonald (unable to participate due to injury)
Driver: Louis-Philippe Roy
#TeamIslandBoyz

Team Double Double
Jockey: Kazushi Kimura
Driver: Jody Jamieson
#TeamDoubleDouble

The Heinz Challenge is the latest feature on the weekly Racing Night Live program on TSN.

Racing Night Live, which airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on TSN, showcases the world-class racing from the Thoroughbreds at Woodbine Racetrack and Standardbreds at Woodbine Mohawk Park over an action-packed two hours.

The Heinz Challenge will run from Aug. 6 to Sept. 10.

Fans can join the conversation, track the leaderboard and cheer on their favourite team through social media by using the hashtag #HeinzChallenge. All eight of the participating athletes can be found on various social media platforms and will be engaging with fans over the course of the six-week event.

Who To Follow:
Woodbine Racetrack: @WoodbineTB (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Woodbine Mohawk Park: @WoodbineSB (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Heinz Canada: @heinz_ca (Instagram)
Rafael Hernandez: @hernandezrafii (Twitter)
Jody Jamieson: @Jodyjamracing (Twitter)
Kazushi Kimura: @kazushi0096 (Twitter), @k.kimura0906 (Instagram)
James MacDonald: @jamesomac26 (Twitter)
Bob McClure: @BobMcClure2 (Twitter)
Doug McNair: @DMcNair12 (Twitter)
Louis-Philippe Roy: louisphilippe.roy.12 (Facebook)
Justin Stein: @justin_steinjockey (Instagram)
Emma-Jayne Wilson: @EJWilson81 (Twitter)

(Woodbine Entertainment)