Waples Taking A Short Hiatus

Three-time O’Brien Award winning driver Randy Waples has told Trot Insider that he will be taking a short break from the race bike, effective immediately, and he will not be at Woodbine this evening (Monday, November 17).

Waples, who has driven his charges to 6,129 victories and over $118-million in purse earnings, is taking the brief hiatus to rest up and overcome a few minor ailments he has been battling.

“I’ve just been run down as of late and have been fighting some small issues as well as some battles with the flu,” said Waples, who was crowned Canada’s top driver in 1998, 2001 and 2010.

Waples told Trot Insider that his recent ailments have left him a bit weak. Additionally, he said that he has been trying to overcome a nagging wrist injury. Doctors have recommended that he take a brief hiatus from racing to help strengthen the wrist. After taking everything into account, Waples says the move makes sense at this time.

“I haven’t taken so much as a week off in 10 years,” said Waples. “I’m going to be off approximately two weeks... maybe a little longer if necessary.”

Randy stated that he would like to apologize to anyone that this adversely affects, and wanted to send out his thanks to all of those in the industry who continually support him.

From 1,250 starts this year, Waples has made 161 trips to the winner’s circle, notched 202 second-place finishes and has recorded 172 thirds. He’s currently sporting a .264 UDR on the campaign and has steered his mounts to over $4.4 million in purses this season.