The 2025 harness racing season at Hiawatha Horse Park begins this weekend with nine races carded for opening day on Saturday, May 3.

The Sarnia, Ont. racetrack's 21-day meet will consist of live racing on Saturdays through Sept. 20, with post time at 6:30 p.m.  The season's highlights will include Ontario Sires Stakes with multiple Grassroots and Prospect Series legs scheduled at the five-eighths-mile oval on July 19, Aug. 2, Aug. 30 and Sept. 6.

This Saturday's season opener will feature a pair of $5,000 conditioned events with the Darryl Laver-trained mare Champagne Bettina and Hiawatha's reigning driving champion Garrett Rooney favoured in the trotting division in race six and Coalition Hanover headlining the matching ninth race pace for driver Robert Doyle and trainer Pam Forgie. Cassidy Schneider, co-leading trainer of the 2024 meet (with Lindsey Kerr), will send out six starters on the card, including contenders in the co-features, trotter Downstairs Party with Lorne House driving and the Rooney-reined pacer Sir A.

Hiawatha will once again offer its "loonie and toonie night" promotion on the first Saturday of each month with programs and pop for $1 each and hotdogs for $2.

Programs and live streaming of the races are available online via the track's website at hiawathahorsepark.ca.

To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Hiawatha Horse Park // Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

To view the complete 2025 race date calendar, click here.

(Standardbred Canada)