The Raceway at Western Fair District will enter its busiest stretch of the racing season on the heels of another record-setting wagering fiscal year at the London, Ont. half-mile oval.
The Friday, March 29 program capped off the 2023/24 Ontario Racing fiscal year with a total of $58,468,000 wagered over 121 race dates, surpassing last year’s record number of $56,709,000. The three per cent increase in total handle matched a three per cent increase in per race handle over the same period.
The highwater benchmark for the meet came on the Tuesday, January 30 program when $852,000 was wagered on the 12-race program.
“It’s very encouraging to eclipse last year’s record wagering numbers,” said Greg Blanchard, Director of Equine Programming. “The numbers are solid for a small half-mile track such as ours and is something that our entire team takes pride in. It gives us a nice boost as we head into the final two months of our spring meet – our most exciting part of the season.”
The Raceway will play host to the Ontario Regional Driving Championship for the sixth time on Tuesday, April 23. Nine of Ontario’s top drivers will square off in the nine-race competition with the top finishers qualifying for the National Driving Championship later this summer in Trois-Rivieres, Que. The field will be headlined by former World Driving Champion and multiple O’Brien Award winner James MacDonald.
Live harness racing will also return to London on Saturday, May 4, Kentucky Derby Day, with a special 12:55 p.m. start time. The Top Of The Fair dining room will feature a ‘Southern Style’ menu that day and there will also be food trucks on hand on the patio. The ‘Dacshund Derby’ Weiner Dog races return and there will be contests for best hat and for picking the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby.
The track’s signature event, the $150,000 Camluck Classic Invitational, sponsored by Seelster Farms, is slated for Friday, May 31. The powerful program will also feature four City of London Series finals, the London Classic Yearling Sale Trot and the first leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
The always popular Party on the Patio, a special Top Of The Fair menu, live entertainment, giveaways and more will also be featured on Camluck Classic Night. More details will be announced on the track’s social channels and at theracewaywfd.com.
(Western Fair District)