The Raceway at Western Fair District hosted a Caretaker Appreciation event on Friday, Dec. 3 as part of the 2021 National Caretaker Appreciation Day (NCAD) initiatives facilitated by Standardbred Canada. 2021 marked the fourth consecutive year for NCAD.

The Raceway announced names of the caretakers in the post parade of each race and gave out prize packages throughout the night.

The Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA) provided HPI cards for one winner from each race on the card.

"Caretakers are the heart and soul of our industry, so we were thrilled to show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication to the equine athletes that race at our track," commented Tony Elliott, Racing Manager at The Raceway at Western Fair District. "Thank you to Standardbred Canada and COSA for sponsoring this event!”

Last week, SC featured Riley Simpson, of London, Ont., a regular caretaker at The Raceway in a Faces of Racing profile.

The week of September 20-26, tracks, stables and training centres from across the country hosted events recognizing and rewarding caretakers in different ways, and tracks that weren’t racing at that time had the option of hosting a fall event.