Trot Insider has compiled a list of the leading drivers and trainers at racetracks across Canada through the 2020 harness racing season.
After cracking the top three in 2018 and 2019, Bob McClure was Canada's top money-winning driver in 2020, amassing $6.67 million in purses in 1419 Canadian starts this season. Runner-up Doug McNair ended the season with $6.27 million, and defending leader Sylvain Filion was third with $6.11 million banked.
McNair took top honours as the winningest driver in Canada, this season, amassing 289 wins in 1,749 starts. McNair's 206 wins at Woodbine Mohawk Park landed him in third behind Filion and McClure at Canada's premier Standardbred racing venue, and he also finished the summer atop the driving standings at Hanover Raceway. Brett MacDonald, who won the driving titles at Clinton Raceway, Flamboro Downs and Georgian Downs, finished second with 279 wins in just his sixth season of driving. Filion ranked third with 264 wins, with all but 19 of them coming at his home base of Woodbine Mohawk Park.
On the training ledger, Richard Moreau swept both the wins and earnings titles for the fifth consecutive year. Moreau has been unsurpassed in both categories every season since 2012, with Jimmy Takter's upending of him as the top-earning trainer in 2015 being the lone exception. His starters accounted for 237 wins and $3.62 in purses, outpacing runners-up Kelly Hoerdt (152 wins) and Benoit Baillargeon ($2.96 million) by a sizeable margin.
Leading Western Canadian horseman Brandon Campbell — who led the driving standings at Century Downs and Fraser Downs — had the highest Universal Trainer Rating of all Canadian conditioners in 2020, posting a .458 rating to outpace Marc Campbell (.441) and fellow Albertan Kelly Hoerdt (.432).
Campbell missed the top-percentage sweep by a scant two-thousandths of a point, as Nova Scotian Redmond Doucet's .459 Universal Driver Rating narrowly edged Campbell's .457 rating. The leading driver at Inverness Raceway, Doucet sported a 90-75-36 summary from just 313 starts and thus hit the top three in more than 64 percent of his seasonal outings.
(***All statistics include Canadian starts from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020. Minimum 260 starts for URS stats.)
Century Downs
Top Driver (Money): Brandon Campbell ($628,208)
Top Driver (Wins): Brandon Campbell (111)
Top Trainer (Money): Mike Campbell ($386,605)
Top Trainer (Wins): Brandon Campbell (52)
Century Mile
Top Driver (Money): Mike Hennessy ($128,769)
Top Driver (Wins): Dave Kelly (24)
Top Trainer (Money): Chris Lancaster ($111,627)
Top Trainer (Wins): Dave Kelly (16)
Clinton Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Brett MacDonald ($73,504)
Top Driver (Wins): Brett MacDonald (17)
Top Trainer (Money): Patrick Shepherd ($39,166)
Top Trainer (Wins): Patrick Shepherd (13)
Dresden Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Tyler Borth ($85,481)
Top Driver (Wins): Tyler Borth (23)
Top Trainer (Money): Gordon McDonnell ($35,472)
Top Trainer (Wins): Gordon McDonnell (11)
Exhibition Park Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Gilles Barrieau ($58,140)
Top Driver (Wins): Gilles Barrieau (24)
Top Trainer (Money): Gilles Barrieau ($42,300)
Top Trainer (Wins): Ellen Stevenson (13)
Flamboro Downs
Top Driver (Money): Brett MacDonald ($593,450)
Top Driver (Wins): Brett MacDonald (87)
Top Trainer (Money): Jodie Cullen ($230,722)
Top Trainer (Wins): Jodie Cullen (38)
Fraser Downs
Top Driver (Money): Brandon Campbell ($524,901)
Top Driver (Wins): Brandon Campbell and Kelly Hoerdt (90)
Top Trainer (Money): Jim Marino ($538,507)
Top Trainer (Wins): Kelly Hoerdt (101)
Georgian Downs
Top Driver (Money): Brett MacDonald ($242,245)
Top Driver (Wins): Brett MacDonald (36)
Top Trainer (Money): Ben Baillargeon ($195,170)
Top Trainer (Wins): Richard Moreau (16)
Grand River Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Scott Coulter ($310,206)
Top Driver (Wins): Scott Coulter (47)
Top Trainer (Money): Ben Baillargeon ($195,170)
Top Trainer (Wins): Richard Moreau (16)
Hanover Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Doug McNair ($173,822)
Top Driver (Wins): Doug McNair (41)
Top Trainer (Money): Shawn Steacy ($62,890)
Top Trainer (Wins): Patrick Shepherd (16)
Hiawatha Horse Park
Top Driver (Money): Marc St. Louis Jr. ($149,504)
Top Driver (Wins): Marc St. Louis Jr. (49)
Top Trainer (Money): Danielle St. Louis ($45,996)
Top Trainer (Wins): Danielle St. Louis (15)
Hippodrome 3R
Top Driver (Money): Stephane Brosseau ($275,057)
Top Driver (Wins): Pascal Bérubé (52)
Top Trainer (Money): Francis Richard ($182,947)
Top Trainer (Wins): Francis Richard (33)
Inverness Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Redmond Doucet ($47,101)
Top Driver (Wins): Redmond Doucet (46)
Top Trainer (Money): Gilles Barrieau ($17,175)
Top Trainer (Wins): James Copley (11)
Kawartha Downs
Top Driver (Money): Nick Boyd ($143,209)
Top Driver (Wins): Nick Boyd (36)
Top Trainer (Money): Murray Brethour ($47,245)
Top Trainer (Wins): Murray Brethour, Danielle St. Louis and Isaac Waxman (10)
Leamington Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Marc St. Louis Jr. ($142,380)
Top Driver (Wins): Marc St. Louis Jr. (47)
Top Trainer (Money): George Robinson ($38,268)
Top Trainer (Wins): Danielle St. Louis (14)
Northside Downs
Top Driver (Money): Clare MacDonald ($26,498)
Top Driver (Wins): Gregory Sparling (22)
Top Trainer (Money): Clare MacDonald ($18,933)
Top Trainer (Wins): Kevin Bailey (14)
The Raceway at the Western Fair District
Top Driver (Money): Marc St. Louis Jr. ($579,626)
Top Driver (Wins): Marc St. Louis Jr. (128)
Top Trainer (Money): Danielle St. Louis ($217,422)
Top Trainer (Wins): Danielle St. Louis (54)
Red Shores at Charlottetown Driving Park
Top Driver (Money): Marc Campbell ($395,730)
Top Driver (Wins): Marc Campbell (139)
Top Trainer (Money): Marc Campbell ($238,707)
Top Trainer (Wins): Marc Campbell (73)
Rideau Carleton Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Guy Gagnon ($680,571)
Top Driver (Wins): Guy Gagnon (148)
Top Trainer (Money): Guy Gagnon ($376,918)
Top Trainer (Wins): Guy Gagnon (86)
Summerside Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Gilles Barrieau ($101,279)
Top Driver (Wins): Corey MacPherson (32)
Top Trainer (Money): Marc Campbell ($62,442)
Top Trainer (Wins): Marc Campbell (13)
The Track On 2
Top Driver (Money): Dave Kelly ($59,500)
Top Driver (Wins): Dave Kelly ($25)
Top Trainer (Money): Kelly Hoerdt ($46,337)
Top Trainer (Wins): Dave Kelly (18)
Truro Raceway
Top Driver (Money): Paul Langille ($57,703)
Top Driver (Wins): Paul Langille (39)
Top Trainer (Money): Paul Langille ($49,718)
Top Trainer (Wins): George Rennison (35)
Woodbine Mohawk Park
Top Driver (Money): Bob McClure ($6,022,430)
Top Driver (Wins): Sylvain Filion (245)
Top Trainer (Money): Richard Moreau ($3,022,568)
Top Trainer (Wins): Richard Moreau (156)