Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall in Manitoba have forced a premature ending to the 2023 season of harness racing at The Loop.
The card slated for Saturday, Oct. 28 has been cancelled as a result of those conditions.
"Our regulatory body does not allow rain dates so we are not able to make up lost days," Garth Rogerson, CEO of The Red River Exhibition Association told Trot Insider on Friday. "We are hoping to have this changed for 2024 but as it stands now the heavy snow and slush combined with freezing temperatures in the forecast has cancelled our last race day which in turn ends our 2023 season."
Blake Piwniuk claimed the driving title for the first season at The Loop, winning more than 50 percent of his drives over the meet. In 73 starts, Piwniuk posted a 37-16-8 summary, good for a 0.665 UDRS and $133,291 in earnings.
On the training side, Trevor Williams put up numbers almost as solid and just as impressive. The trainer won races at a better than 40 percent clip, with a 33-17-10 summary from 81 starts and $130,859 in purses. Those numbers equated to a 0.565 UTRS for Williams.
Dates for 2024 have yet to be finalized.