It seems only fitting that London, Ont. would celebrate its 200th birthday with a party the likes of which it's never seen before.
Exactly 200 years ago today — Jan. 30, 1826 — London, Ont. became a legal entity, founded at the Forks of the Thames River. Now, for the first time, the Forest City gets ready to host Canadian harness racing's most prestigious event with the kickoff to O'Brien Awards weekend.
Standardbred Canada held its Annual Members Meeting at The Grove at Western Fair District on Friday afternoon in advance of the live evening card of harness racing at The Raceway, with SC Directors, staff, O'Brien finalists and guests in attendance to launch the weekend of celebration.
"It's been a great start to the weekend. Tonight's event at Western Fair was excellent," said Darryl Kaplan, President & CEO of Standardbred Canada. "Western Fair District has been an amazing host and we look forward to tomorrow. It should be an amazing night, as it always is, but it seems very special to have this entire weekend going from our Board Meetings into our All Members Meeting into a great night of racing at Western Fair, and then into Saturday and we'll have the O'Briens in London, we're very excited."
"There's a really good crowd here tonight, the atmosphere is electric and the handle is great," added Mark Horner, Chair of the Board of Standardbred Canada. "The races have been good and we're having a good time. It's great to have a lot of the nominees here, and it's going to be a great weekend for everybody. Greg Blanchard has done a great job here with this night, and I'm sure Western Fair will put on a good show tomorrow night."
Wagering on Friday's 10-race card at The Raceway was a meet high handle of $829,785, following a weather cancellation last week and nearly double its previous Friday card on Jan. 16.
"Obviously, the cold snap took its toll on some tracks, and with no Meadowlands tonight, a big impact on handle for sure, but to see the crowd on track is really exciting," said Greg Blanchard, Director of Equine Programming at The Raceway at Western Fair District. "There's a real buzz here this evening. It feels like the crowds we get during the holiday season -- a full house here, everybody having a great time, folks that are in from all over Canada for the O'Briens. Our whole team here, right from our Board of Directors on down, are tremendously excited for tomorrow, especially being the first time at Western Fair ever, but tonight here was a great way to kick it off."
Following a night of camaraderie and racing action, O'Brien finalists and guests will gather at the J-AAR Expo Centre for 37th edition of the awards named in honour of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer Joe O’Brien.
Blanchard will serve as co-host of the awards ceremony on stage Saturday night alongside Mark McKelvie, Senior Manager of Communications for Woodbine Entertainment.
Eighteen O’Brien Awards will be presented to the winners in 12 divisional horse categories and five people categories plus the coveted Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year Award. Leading owners at racetracks from across the country will be recognized and awards will also be presented in three Media Excellence Award categories and the Outstanding Groom Award category. Marvin Katz will be presented with the prestigious Cam Fella Award. The culmination of the evening will be the announcement of the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year.
Click here for a breakdown of the evening's festivities and live streaming information.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Standardbred Canada Directors and staff in a winner's circle presentation to race eight winner Harborlite Ambrose with driver Austin Sorrie and trainer Rachel Andrew)