Trevor Henry says the big city drivers from the Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) circuit “are no different” than the three local guys dominating the Clinton Raceway’s driver standings and preparing to defend their turf this Sunday (Aug. 31) during the track’s 34th annual Drivers Challenge.
Henry, a 43-year-old Arthur, Ont. resident, is Canada’s leading driver in wins by a huge margin (341 to James MacDonald’s 232). He leads the Clinton Raceway standings by 20 wins and some $100,000 over Bruce Richardson, 42, also of Arthur. Ryan Holliday, 26, of Mount Forest, Ont. is third at Clinton. That all three drivers live within 100 kms of Clinton is a bonus.
“It’s fun having Bruce and Trevor in there, because we drive against each other all the time and there’s always some chirping going on,” Holliday said. “I’m not saying we’re competing any harder because we’re always competing, but there will be no holes on (Drivers Challenge) day.
Everybody will be looking out for himself.
“The drivers’ colony used to be split up a lot more than it is. You used to have your Flamboro guys and your London guys and your Grand River guys and your Georgian guys. Everybody’s hungry now so everybody’s going everywhere. I think that’s helped my driving a lot to get more exposure to other drivers.”
Henry, who reached $30 million in career earnings earlier this year, is a great example. Apart from leading Canada and Clinton in wins, he’s also the top driver at Grand River Raceway in Elora, Ont., Georgian Downs in Innisfil, Ont., The Raceway at The Western Fair District in London, Ont. and is second at Flamboro Downs in Hamilton and third at Hanover Raceway. He’s also third in the Ontario Sires Stakes Lampman Cup standings.
“Right now it’s so busy,” Henry said. “The stakes schedule is not as spread out. There’s stakes pretty well every other night of the week somewhere. So, you’ve kind of got to go to them.
“It’s tough. You go every day, pretty much. You get used to it, but you sure appreciate when you get a day off.”
While the Drivers Challenge is hardly a day off for Henry, he said he likes the atmosphere at Clinton Raceway.
“They always seem to have a good crowd there. It’s nice racing there. It’s a friendly track. Everybody gets along there,” Henry said. “It’s more of a fun type deal than it is pressure, all the time.”
The Drivers Challenge will pit Henry, Richardson and Holliday against Chris Christoforou, Jody Jamieson, Doug McNair, Sylvain Filion and James MacDonald from the Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) circuit.
The program will also feature an Ontario Sires Stakes grassroots event for two-year-old pacing colts, as well as a charity barbeque, loom bracelet sale, 50/50 draw, bake sale, various auctions and a petting zoo, bouncy castle and face painting for the kids. The card starts at 1:30 p.m.
(Clinton Raceway)