Austin Sorrie put the finishing touches on his Georgian Downs driving title while fellow Freelton, Ont. horseman Ronald MacDonald clinched the training title during the meet finale on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Sorrie held a commanding lead in the Georgian driver standings entering the meet's final 10-race card and the 24-year-old reinsman added three more wins on the night to bring his total to 57. Runner-up Brett MacDonald matched Sorrie's three Saturday successes but the defending driving champion still trailed overall by 22. Jason Ryan and Travis Henry tied for third-place in the standings, each winning 31 races at the meet, which began on June 2 and consisted of three cards per week throughout the summer.
Sorrie, who was the 2020 Future Star Award winner, is in the midst of his fourth consective seven-figure season and has won 133 races across all tracks this year.
MacDonald, 57, was tied atop the trainer standings with defending champion Jodie Cullen and had one shot on the final card to pull ahead. The aptly named three-year-old trotting colt Saturday ($3.70) delivered with a 1:57.4 career-best victory in the sixth race with MacDonald's son Brett in the bike. The win was number 18 at the Georgian meet for MacDonald, who surpassed his overall seasonal win count from last year of 54 when his stable earned a career-best $669,250.
Cullen, who did not have any starters on Saturday at the Innisfil oval, settled for the runner-up honours in the trainer standings while Brett Lester emerged from a tie with Rachel Andrew for the third spot after a 1-2 finish in the last race -- Sorrie drove the winning claiming pacer Briggs ($2.60) to the 1:57.4 victory to cap off the action.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Georgian Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)