Grand River Raceway wrapped up its 2025 harness racing season on Friday, Sept. 26 with a track record performance highlighting the closing night action.
Eurobank Hanover shaved one-fifth of a second off Seeme Zoom's track record for three-year-old trotting geldings with a 1:54.3 victory in the evening's fifth race, a $10,300 conditioned trot. The time was just three-fifths of a second shy of the overall male sophomore record held by colt Paquet.
Re-taking command at the :27.1 opening panel, Eurobank Hanover trotted out to a commanding lead through middle splits of :56.4 and 1:25.1 for driver Samuel Fillion and cruised home a 1-1/2-length winner over favoured Major Bank (Scott Coulter), who made late gains to finish second, with Supersonic Hanover (Nick Boyd) more than eight lengths behind in third. Sent postward as the 8-5 second choice, Eurobrank Hanover paid $5.30 to win.
Trained by Luc Blais for owner Determination of Montreal, Que., Eurobank Hanover is campaigned by the same connections as his famous half-brother, the O'Brien Award-winning double millionaire Emoticon Hanover. A lightly raced son of Greenshoe out of Emmylou Who, he made just two starts as a freshman and has now won six of his 10 sophomore races, with earnings at $34,010.
As the 2025 season concluded at Grand River Raceway, Fillion secured the driving title while the training crown was shared by Kyle Fellows and Kyle Bossence.
Fillion guided 62 winners from 328 starts to earn his first Grand River Raceway driving crown. Austin Sorrie finished second with 54 wins while Daryl Thiessen was third with 49 victories.
On the training side, Fellows and Bossence both finished with 18 wins to share the 2025 title. Fellows posted 18 wins, 16 seconds and 10 thirds from 74 starts. Bossence matched him with 18 wins from 82 starters and had 14 seconds and eight thirds. Gregg McNair rounded out the top three trainers with 13 victories.
Grand River Raceway's 2025 leading driver Samuel Fillion and co-leading trainer Kyle Bossence.
“This season truly showcased the talent of our equine athletes and the dedication of our horsepeople,” said Jenna MacDonell, Raceway Manager. “Their hard work, along with the support of our fans, made for a great 2025 season.”
In addition to thrilling on-track competition, Grand River Raceway hosted a few fan-favourite events throughout the season. Industry Day once again highlighted the best of Ontario Sires Stakes racing, while Wiener Dog Day once again drew record crowds and plenty of excitement. The Elora, Ont. track also partnered with Harness the Hope to raise awareness and funds in the fight against breast cancer, continuing its commitment to meaningful community engagement.
New attractions were introduced as well, including the launch of “The NEIGHbourhood,” a very popular family-friendly kids area, and a new woodfire pizza oven that quickly became a hit with racegoers.
“We couldn’t be happier with the way this season came together, both on and off the track,” added MacDonell. “Celebrating our racing product alongside these signature community events made 2025 a season to remember.”
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Grand River Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada & Grand River Raceway)