After a post time delay for track maintenance due to the rainy weather in the region, Dresden Raceway's 2026 harness racing meet kicked off on Sunday, May 24 with defending driving champion Garrett Rooney dominating the day thanks in part to the red-hot William Leon stable.
Rooney, who led all drivers at Dresden in 2025 with 37 victories and a flashy .542 UDRS, picked up right where he left off in his return to the southwestern Ontario half-mile oval, winning the first race and four more throughout the Opening Day's 10-race program.
Fashion Forward opened the meet with 14-length romp for Rooney after she went forward off the gate in the $4,000 distaff claiming pace and scored in wire-to-wire fashion in 2:03.4 over the off going. Owned by trainer Michael Stamp and Janet Larcombe of Petrolia, Ont., the six-year-old Betterthancheddar-Fashion Guru mare, who had posted four top three finishes in her first 12 starts of the year racing in the $8,000 claiming ranks at Western Fair Raceway, was sent postward as the 6-5 second choice and paid $4.60 win. Even-money favourite Anchor So Reel (Lorne House) advanced from mid-field during the second lap and took second over 19-1 pocket-pursuer Olivia Camden GB (Scott Wray).
Rooney's next three winners were trained by Leon, as pacing gelding Woodmere Denver ($3.30) carried him right back to the winner's circle after the second race and pacing mares Red Sky Tonight ($8) and Furiosa ($7.40) were back-to-back winners in the sixth and seventh races.
Jewels Diamondeyes ($3.50), a pacing mare trained by Michael Carther, completed Rooney's five-win day in the penultimate race.
Dresden Raceway's 2026 meet features live harness racing weekly on Sunday afternoons with post time at 1 p.m. through Aug. 3.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Dresden Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Garrett Rooney driving at Dresden Raceway last year)