For Future Star Award winner Kyle Bossence, awaiting the February 6 announcement as he watched the O'Brien Awards virtual gala with his young family was just like watching his horses line up behind the starting gate on race day.

"It's kind of just like watching a horse go behind the gate," said the 31-year-old trainer and newly minted father. "When the time starts counting down, your heart kind of starts beating a little faster so it was a lot of fun."

A two-time finalist for the honour, Bossence was a Future Star Award runner-up in 2018 after winning 42 races and more than $240,000 in purses during his second season of training horses fulltime. His stats continued to improve each year and Bossence enjoyed his best season yet in 2021 to take home the bronze trophy, as he trained 69 winners from 316 starts and earned more than $440,000 in purses. 

"It's something I never really even expected when I started training horses," admitted Bossence. "I didn't really think anything about it. To get nominated is great, to win is even better."

Among the accomplishments Bossence is most proud of is winning the Grand River Raceway training title and scoring a victory on Industry Day, an event he says he's rarely missed attending and hopes to star in its signature Battle of Waterloo in the near future.

Trot Insider caught up with Bossence at his farm in Arthur, Ont. the morning after the O'Brien Awards for his reaction to being named the 2021 Future Star Award winner, to discuss his future plans and to get his thoughts on Grand River imminently expanding to a larger track configuration.