Caretakers of horses competing in Grand River Raceway’s 24th annual Industry Day celebration on August 4 stand to win $500 in the track’s annual Best of Show showdown.

The Ontario Harness Horse Association judges and sponsors the contest which awards cash prizes from first to third in four categories: Best of Show Head-to-Toe; Horse & Groom; Harness Shine; and Above-and-Beyond.

Last year’s winners were Evelyn Simpson, Katie Gangell, Erin Watson, Jean Jonasson, Lindsay Moore, Gabriella Sasso and Lori Jennex.

Judges circulate through the paddock during the afternoon card and the winners will be announced on industrydaycelebration.com and the track’s Facebook page.

The Industry Day card features 12 dashes worth a total of $655,640, including the 17th annual Battle of Waterloo ($217,140), the sixth annual Battle of the Belles ($138,000), three $70,000 divisions of sophomore pacing colts in a Gold Leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes, and an international trot presented by Racing Under Saddle (RUS) Ontario featuring riders from Canada, Sweden, U.S., Finland, Norway and Belgium.

Post time for the Industry Day card is 1:30 p.m. Festivities and the race broadcast will kick off at 1 p.m.

The race program for Industry Day is available here.

For complete Industry Day details, visit industrydaycelebration.com.

(Grand River Raceway)