The draw for the 2018 Eastern Ontario / Quebec Regional Driving Championship, which will take place this Saturday (June 30) at Kawartha Downs, is now complete.
First race post time for Saturday's card of harness racing is 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. The participating drivers -- representing Kawartha Downs (KD), Hippodrome 3R (3R) and Rideau Carleton Raceway (RCR) -- are:
Nicholas Boyd (KD)
Stephane Brosseau (3R)
Guy Gagnon (RCR)
Reg Gassien (KD)
Stephane Gendron (3R)
Jonathan Lachance (RCR)
Brett MacDonald (RCR)
Richard Simard (RCR)
Invitations were extended to drivers based on several criteria, including their 2017 statistics on their circuit.
Kawartha Downs in Fraserville, Ont., will host the EOQRDC for their first time.
“We are extremely excited to be hosting this event," said Orazio Valente, General Manager of Kawartha Downs. "There has been a lot of preparation going on in the background and we look forward to a great night of harness racing."
The EOQRDC races will take place in races 1, 3, and 5 through 8. To view Saturday's entries, click on one of the following links: Kawartha Downs - Saturday Entries - Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
Drivers will receive points based on their finishing position and the top two drivers will join six other drivers at the 2018 National Driving Championship (NDC) at Grand River Raceway on Wednesday, September 26.
The winner of the 2018 NDC will have the opportunity to represent Canada in the World Driving Championship (WDC), and join 2017 World Driving Champion, James MacDonald, in the 2019 WDC in Sweden.
SCORING
The Regional Driving Championships and the National Driving Championship will adapt the point system utilized in the World Driving Championship. Points will be awarded on the order of finish as follows:
Number of Starters 8:
15 (1), 10 (2), 7 (3), 5 (4), 4 (5), 3 (6), 2 (7), 1 (8).
Number of Starters 7:
14 (1), 9 (2), 6 (3), 4 (4), 3 (5), 2 (6), 1 (7).
In the event of a scratch, the driving rep drawn to a horse shall drive the ‘also eligible’ horse.
In the event of a horse being scratched or where no horse is available, five (5) points shall be awarded to the driver concerned. If a horse is disqualified or a horse and driver fail to complete the race, they will receive one (1) point.
In the event of a dead heat for any placing in any race the points for the horses involved will be added together and divided equally among the drivers concerned (eg. If there’s a dead heat for third between two horses, the points for third and fourth place will be added and divided among the drivers)