After making his return to harness racing late in 2012 and battling back from two accidents in 2013, driver Brad Forward last drove in Ontario in early October. He cracked the top 10 in dash wins, and then was gone.

The reason for Forward's hiatus was family. His father, Bob, wasn't well and required open heart surgery. Forward returned home to Newfoundland to be with his family, and told Trot Insider that he planned to stay there until his father was better.

Fast forward to February, and there's good news. Brad reports that his father is now out of the hospital after having six bypasses and, if all goes well, he plans on returning to driving in Ontario sometime in March.

Despite injuries and his self-imposed hiatus, Brad Forward finished ninth in Canada in dashes won last season with 205. The red-white-and-black-clad reinsman has won more than 4,200 dashes lifetime.