Phil Giesbrecht and Kelly Hoerdt punched their tickets to the National Driving Championship at Clinton Raceway in July after securing the top two spots in the 2026 Western Regional Driving Championship (WRDC) at Century Downs Racetrack & Casino on Saturday, May 23.

Giesbrecht was fifth midway through the contest but won three of the last four races to clinch the title with 72.5 points. Kelly Hoerdt led much of the way and finished a comfortable second with a total of 60.5. Giesbrecht and Hoerdt, another previous WRDC champion, will be the western region’s representatives at the NDC. The winner of that competition will receive an entry into to the 2027 World Driving Championship (WDC).

Giesbrecht started his second-half charge as he gave Trust Me Alot a second-over trip to victory in the fifth round. After dead heating for fifth with Hoerdt in round six, he won the penultimate leg with a pocket trip behind Diva Amour, and wrapped up his title defence as Redstone Arsenal made an impressive sweep from seventh to win the finale by open lengths. The WRDC victory was reminiscent of Giesbrecht’s 2024 triumph, in which the Manitoba native swept the final three contest dashes to win by one point.

He dedicated his victory to Dave Hudon, who was slated to compete in the WRDC but withdrew due to health issues.

"Dave, that's for you my man," he said in an interview on the broadcast. "Hope you're watching. It was great to do this for him.

"We'll be talking with you soon, big fella."

The triumphant Giesbrecht also delivered a message to his children after the contest.

“I’d like to say hi to the kids at home,” he said. “It’s too bad they’re not here today, but anyways, hi guys, we’re coming home, daddy did it Trace!”

Giesbrecht, the leading driver at Century Mile for the last two seasons, had his first million-dollar campaign in 2023 and has topped seven digits every year since. The 37-year-old debuted as a driver in 2007 and has amassed 1,542 wins and $10.91 million in earnings in 11,102 races. He had his best season in 2024, when he won 170 races and steered his drives to purses of $1.48 million. This year, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. resident is 36-for-187.

He qualified for the NDC first in 2022 via a second-place finish but stepped down due to personal reasons, then finished fifth in the national contest in 2024 after his WRDC victory. He now has the chance to join reigning WDC champion James MacDonald in representing Canada at the 2027 edition of that tournament.

Giesbrecht expressed his excitement at travelling to Clinton for the NDC.

“It’s such a nice place,” Giesbrecht said. “It's on Legends Day too, so it's going to be a lot of fun. I'll see some old friends out there, it's been a long time since I've been to Ontario."

Hoerdt will be Western Canada’s other representative in the NDC. The 2018 WRDC champion won the first leg on Saturday and led through round six before being overtaken by Giesbrecht in the seventh competition race. He and Giesbrecht will aim to be the first NDC winner from the west since 2016.

Phil Giesbrecht and Kelly Hoerdt receive their commemorative tickets to the National Driving Championship. (Left to right: Josh Murphy, Kelly Hoerdt, Allen Goodsell, Phil Giesbrecht, Dr. Jordan Cook, Nancy Retzlaff and Wally Slopiankia)

Here's how the action unfolded on Saturday in the eight-race driving challenge.

WRDC Leg 1 (Race 3)
No Free Tricks ($30.10) wasn't one of the horses in the draft but Kelly Hoerdt knew what he had when his first race entry was scratched and No Free Tricks drew into the race. Leaving from post four, Hoerdt sent the 14-1 shot to the top, yielded the lead briefly to Shirley Wicked (Phil Giesbrecht) and then retook the lead before the halfway mark. With pressure looming from favoured Tahuya Velocious (James Jungquist), No Free Tricks repelled that rival down the backside and then held off Chasing Midnight (Scott Knight) to win a lifetime best 1:55.2. Chasing Midnight finished second with Rezies Gal (Darryl Mason) in for third.

WRDC Leg 2 (Race 4)
Mike Hennessy found the front early with post five starter Foothills Magic ($7) and would not relinquish that position no matter how hard 1-2 favourite Mylittle Gingerman (Kelly Hoerdt) tried. Those two tussled for nearly five-eighths of the mile, slugging it out down the stretch and finishing noses apart at the wire. In the end, Foothills Magic held off the public choice with Wits Beach (Logan Gillis) hitting the bottom of the triactor ticket.

WRDC Leg 3 (Race 5)
Airline Pilot ($63.60) was dismissed at 30-1 in his test on Saturday, but driver James Jungquist drove the horse like a 1-9 shot and the six-year-old delivered a stellar wire-to-wire score in 1:55.1. Credit Is Magic (Giesbrecht) stayed for second with Tuff As Buff (Mason) holding off Billy Buxton (Knight) for third.

WRDC Leg 4 (Race 6)
Logan Gills converted a second-over tow from Ima Party Boy (Darryl Mason) down the backside to launch a three-wide attack with Sundash ($31.10) around the final turn and eventually wear down pacesetter Carving Credit (Hoerdt) for the 1:56 victory. Carving Credit stayed for second with favoured Cash On Demand (Hennessy) in the show spot.

WRDC Leg 5 (Race 7)
Second over tow was the winning move again here as Trust Me Alot ($3.70) and Phil Giesbrecht followed Dali Dancer (Hennessy) down the backside, and cleared that rival around the far turn when Dali Dancer overpowered Beach Myst (Jungquist) before the third quarter. Trust Me Alot coasted home from there, a confident 1:57.1 victress. In a three-across finish for second, Dali Dancer held off Frostfire (Gillis) and Saucy Posse (Hoerdt) for the place position.

WRDC Leg 6 (Race 8)
A pocket ride with Blue Powder ($5.20) gave driver Nathan Sobey some much needed collateral in the WRDC's sixth leg. Sitting in the two hole behind Tin Can Timmy (Gillis) until the far turn, Blue Powder blew by his pacesetting rival to deliver to his connections and backers in 1:55.2. Herd Immunity (Knight) and Alien Art Form (Jungquist) completed the triactor ticket.

WRDC Leg 7 (Race 9)
The pocket ride delivered once again in the seventh leg, with Phil Giesbrecht finding a seam up the inside in stretch for the 1:56.4 score aboard Diva Amour ($3.50). Stylebender (Hoerdt) bested Timeformetofly (Mason) at the wire for second with pacesetting Son Of A Beach (Knight) next across the wire.

WRDC Leg 8 (Race 10)
Redstone Arsenal ($7.50) clinched the WRDC title for Phil Giesbrecht with a dominant performance in the finale, launching three-wide around stalled flow approaching the three-quarter mark before overpowering Rockin Roller (Sobey) in the stretch for the 1:54.1 tally. Rockin Roller was next best with Dillon James (Jungquist) rallying late for third.  

WRDC FINAL POINT TOTALS 

1. Phil Giesbrecht - 72.5
2. Kelly Hoerdt - 60.5
3. Logan Gillis - 44
4. James Jungquist - 44
5. Mike Hennessy - 42
6. Scott Knight - 39
7. Nathan Sobey - 37
8. Darryl Mason - 37

The replay from Century Downs is below.

THE ROAD TO THE NATIONAL DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIP

Tyler Borth and Jody Jamieson advanced to the NDC by virtue of finishing first and second in the Ontario Regional Driving Championship at Western Fair on May 5. The next RDC will take place on Sunday, June 14 with the Quebec / Eastern Ontario Regional at Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivières, Que., followed by the Atlantic Regional on Tuesday, June 23 at Red Shores Summerside in Summerside, P.E.I. 

The top two point earners from each RDC will advance to the 2026 National Driving Championship (NDC) on Sunday, July 26 at Clinton Raceway in Clinton, Ont. The winner of the NDC will represent Canada at the 2027 World Driving Championship (WDC), which will be hosted by Standardbred Canada. Canada's James MacDonald received an automatic bye into the 2027 WDC as the the reigning World Driving Champion.

(Standardbred Canada)