Standardbred Canada (SC) is excited to announce the details of the 2025 World Driving Championship (WDC), which will take place this November in New Zealand. James MacDonald, who won SC’s National Driving Championship in July, will represent Canada in the prestigious international event.
The event will span New Zealand's coastline and feature 20 races across four racetracks, all leading up to the crowning of the next world champion. The final heat of the WDC is scheduled for New Zealand Cup Day, Nov. 11 — a major event in New Zealand, attracting over 12,000 spectators and featuring the $600,000 USD New Zealand Cup Pace and $300,000 USD Dominion Trot.
The following is the complete WDC racing schedule:
- Nov. 2-3 – Races at Kaikoura Raceway (five races)
- Nov. 5 – Cambridge Raceway (five races)
- Nov. 7 – Cambridge Raceway (five races) and Interconference for the World Trotting Conference in Christchurch
- Nov. 9 – Central Southland Raceway, Winton (four races)
- Nov. 11 – NZ Cup Day at Addington, Christchurch (one race)
Drivers will accumulate points in each heat based on their race finishes, and the competitor with the highest total at the end will claim the title. In the event of a tie, the number of wins, second-place finishes and further placings will determine the final rankings.
The total prize pool of $55,000 USD will be awarded to the participating drivers. The prize distribution is as follows:
- Champion: $25,000 USD
- Runner-up: $12,500 USD
- Third place: $6,000 USD
- Fourth place: $4,000 USD
- Fifth place: $2,500 USD
- Sixth to 10th place: $1,000 USD each
Details about each racetrack are listed below:
- Kaikoura Raceway (Kaikoura) - 1,000 metres (5/8 mile)
- Cambridge Raceway (Cambridge) - 1,000 metres (5/8 mile)
- Central Southland Raceway (Winton) - 1,600 metres (1 mile)
- Addington Raceway (Christchurch) - 1,200 metres (3/4 mile) *Home of NZ Trotting Cup*
The 2025 WDC will be contested under New Zealand’s harness racing rules. Drivers will be assigned horses via random draw, and all races will be mobile starts, except for select heats, which will feature standing starts.
Canada’s representative in the WDC earns their place through a rigorous selection and competition process. Based on racing statistics from the previous season, top drivers from each region qualify to compete in one of four Regional Driving Championships (RDC). The top two finishers from each RDC then advance to the National Driving Championship (NDC), where they vie for the honour of representing Canada on the world stage.
“I have a deep appreciation for how I got here,” said James MacDonald, the winner of the 2024 NDC. "In 2017, it was all new to me, and winning the WDC on home turf was incredible. I’m also fortunate enough to have gone to Sweden [for the WDC in 2019] and experienced international racing. I’m just going to try to soak it all in and have fun regardless of the results.”
When asked if he is preparing to compete against the world’s best on the international stage, MacDonald shared, "There's no real preparation yet, but I’ll likely pick Dexter’s [Dexter Dunn] brain this summer. When I see him, I’ll ask if he can help arrange some preliminary drives before the tournament to gain as much experience as I can, as quickly as I can."
The event will also coincide with the Interconference for the World Trotting Conference. The meetings will bring together industry leaders from around the globe to discuss the future of international racing and breeding.
With the 2025 WDC countdown underway, stay tuned for updates on the itinerary, participating drivers and race previews.
As four-time O’Brien Award winner James MacDonald put it, “GO CANADA GO!”
(Standardbred Canada)