Heading into the final three months of the year, Trot Insider takes a look at the Canadian leaderboard to see who is in contention for the 2016 national harness racing titles.
Three-time O'Brien Award winner Sylvain Filion leads all drivers in Canada for earnings, with his mounts banking over $6 million in purses. The Milton, Ont. reinsman boasts a $2 million lead over Trevor Henry, while Jody Jamieson ranks third with horses he has driven earning over $3.86 million.
Alfred Carroll tops the leaderboard for wins. The Iona Station, Ont. reinsman has already surpassed his nation-leading 408 win total from 2015 with 414 trips to victory lane this year. Bob McClure is also in the midst of a career-year and ranks second with 381 wins while Filion sits third having driven 256 winners.
Meanwhile, Travis Cullen boasts an chart-topping UDRS of 0.515, ahead of Gilles Barrieau (0.431) and Louis Philippe Roy (0.418). The 24-year-old horseman, who moved his stable from Alberta to Ontario last month, also tops all trainers in Canada with an average of 0.514 over Gerard Demers (0.425) and Jackie Matheson (0.370).
Richard Moreau, also a three-time O'Brien Award winner, currently holds a slight lead over Cullen in the win column, 193-191, while Victor Puddy ranks third with his stable winning 107 races so far this year. However, Moreau's Puslinch, Ont.-based stable is the leader for purse earnings by far with over $3 million. Jimmy Takter's Canadian starters have topped the $2 million mark to rank second-best while Casie Coleman is third with earnings close to $1.66 million.
To keep tabs on the season leaders, visit Standardbred Canada's Harness Racing Statistics pages.
**All statistics include Canadian starts from January 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016.