On Friday, May 1, Standardbred Canada (SC) held a conference call with the nine driver participants in the 2026 Ontario Regional Driving Championship (ORDC) to finalize the horses they will drive in the event on Tuesday, May 5, at The Raceway at Western Fair District.

This edition of the ORDC marks the first time in the history of the National Driving Championship and the Regional Driving Championships that the draft has taken place after horses have been drawn to their post positions, and without requiring drivers to drive from every post position. This format, adopted after consultation with competitors from previous years, allowed drivers to know their horses’ post position before selecting a horse, avoiding the pitfall of a driver using an early draft pick to select a horse that was later assigned an unfavourable post position.

The nine drivers will participate in nine competition races. Drivers will compete in eight races and sit out for one race. The 2026 Ontario Regional Driving Championship competitors are:

• Tyler Borth
• Samuel Fillion
• Jody Jamieson
• Bob McClure
• Doug McNair
• Garrett Rooney
• Louis-Philippe Roy
• Austin Sorrie
• Daryl Thiessen

The ORDC drivers selected their horses in a fantasy draft format, with each driver having the opportunity to select first overall in one of the nine ORDC races. First, there was a draw to determine the order of the draft (first through eighth, ninth being OFF) for the first RDC race and then a random number generator was used to determine the draw for the subsequent eight ORDC races so that each driver had the opportunity to draw a first through eighth pick. Each driver was not required to drive from each post position.

Post time for Race 1 on Tuesday’s ORDC card is 5:50 p.m. (EST), with the first ORDC race taking place in Race 3 with an approximate post time of 6:30 p.m. The ORDC races will continue through Race 11. The top two drivers by points after Race 11, the final RDC race, will be awarded their respective ‘ticket’ to the National Driving Championship (NDC) on Sunday, July 26, at Clinton Raceway, in Clinton, Ont.  

To view Tuesday’s entries, click on one of the following links:  The Raceway at Western Fair District - Tuesday Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

(Standardbred Canada Press Release)