On Saturday, May 11, Blake Piwniuk and Nathan Sobey will compete in the Western Regional Driving Championship (WRDC), presented by Standardbred Canada, at Century Downs Racetrack & Casino.

The first and second-place drivers will advance to the National Driving Championship (NDC), presented by Standardbred Canada and hosted by Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivières, Que., on July 5. The champion of the 2024 NDC will earn an invitation to represent Canada in the 2025 World Driving Championship, held in New Zealand and Australia.

First-time WRDC entrants Piwniuk and Sobey are both looking forward to an exciting day of racing at Century Downs. 

During his 12 seasons of driving, Sturgeon County, Alta. horseman Sobey has driven 594 winners and horses to more than $4.6 million in purse earnings.   

Piwniuk, of MacNutt, Sask., has a total of 215 lifetime wins with more than $657,000 in career earnings.

Standardbred Canada asked Sobey (NS) and Piwniuk (BP) several questions in advance of the WRDC. 

What were your thoughts when you got the call to participate in the Western Regional Driving Championship?

BP: "My initial thoughts were excitement. I am excited about the opportunity to go to Alberta and compete in the challenge. It’s an honour and has been a goal of mine for a long time, so I was excited to get the call."

NS: "I was given the heads-up that I might have been considered, so when I got the call, it was nice to hear that my statistics had put me in the top group. I have never focused primarily on my driving because I also train, so I was excited to be given the opportunity to partake in the championship."

What are your thoughts on driving with the eight other drivers in the championship?

BP: "It is going to be competitive, that’s for sure. The hope is to get some good posts with some good horses. It will definitely be the most competitive field of drivers that I have driven with for a while."

NS: "Obviously, I have driven against the guys who race in Alberta a lot, so I have the lay of the land on who drives what style and I can see who my biggest competition will be out of those drivers. I’m not too concerned since I know most of them and plan to approach it like any other race day."

How does it feel to have the opportunity to represent your province in the Regional Driving Championship and possibly represent Canada in 2025 World Driving Championship?

BP: "It’s an honour. If I ever got the opportunity to go on and represent Canada, it would be pure joy and excitement for sure."

NS: "Being a representative of your home province is always an honour. When being a part of the Western Regional you want to be a great ambassador for the sport and showcase that there is some talent out west and in Alberta. It would be a miracle if I had a chance to represent Canada, but it would be a great thrill. There is a lot of talent in our country, so being realistic, it would be tough to make it that far, but I can’t even describe how it would feel. It would be an opportunity of a lifetime, for sure."

Do you think you have any advantage over the other drivers?

BP: "Not overly, not against that bunch of drivers, to be honest. But maybe coming off a half-mile track over the guys coming from B.C."

NS: "Not really, but I guess I would say I have an advantage over some of the B.C. guys; they are used to a five-eighths track and Century Downs is a different track to race on. With some of the guys not being too familiar with Century Downs, it might give me a bit of an advantage."

Are you doing anything to prep for the Western Regional Driving Championship?

BP: "No, same prep as always, maybe a little bit more nerves though. I am going to Alberta before the driving championship to get used to the track." 

NS: "Just trying to diet and get down to my normal driving weight, other than that, I am keeping with my day-to-day routine focusing on my barn and keeping a level head. Since we just started back up, I am trying to focus on getting back to racing and into the groove of driving in that competitive mindset."

Is there anything special that you are looking forward to about the Western Regional Driving Championship?

BP: "I am just looking forward to my first-time experience. I am not really sure what to expect, so I am just looking forward to it, seeing what it is all about and there is a good outcome in the end. I want to thank Century Downs for having me, I am really looking forward to driving at the track."

NS: "It will be nice to show up and just be a catch-driver for a day. To show up and just focus on driving horses, winning races and making money. The day-to-day for me in Alberta are long [days], consisting of taking care of a 30-horse stable, looking after staff, caring for horses at the track and warming them up before races. It will be nice just to race and try and have a little bit of success while doing it."

Sobey and Piwniuk will compete against Phil Giesbrecht, Mike Hennessy, Kelly Hoerdt, David Hudon, David Kelly and Scott Knight.

Drivers will receive points based on their finishing position and the top two drivers from the eight-race competition. The point system for scoring is outlined below.

SCORING

The Regional Driving Championships and the National Driving Championship will adopt the point system used in the World Driving Championship. 

Points will be distributed based on the finishing order as follows.

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

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

If a horse is scratched, the designated driver will instead drive the 'also eligible' horse. If a horse is scratched or unavailable, the driver will receive five points. In case of disqualification or failure to complete the race, one point will be awarded. In the event of a dead heat, the points for the horses involved will be combined and evenly distributed among the drivers.

The first race post time for the WRDC card of harness racing is at 12:45 p.m. (MDT) / 2:45 p.m. (EDT), with the first WRDC race taking place in Race 4. The WRDC races will take place in Races 4 through 11.  

To view Saturday’s entries, click on one of the following links:   
Century Downs Racetrack and Casino - Saturday Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

(Standardbred Canada)