The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club offered two contests for the National Driving Championship that took place at The Raceway at Western Fair District Friday, October 14.
The first of the two contests was an online handicapping contest where Fan Club members were tasked with selecting the winning driver in the eight NDC races along with the overall winner that would be Canada’s representative at the 2017 World Driving Championship.
Each winning selection for an NDC race was worth two points and selecting the overall winner of the NDC was worth four points. Shane Ryan of North Sydney, N.S. finished with 12 out of a possible 20 points making him the winner.
Shane has been a harness racing fan for almost all of his life, but for the past ten years he’s been the track announcer at Northside Downs in North Sydney.
When asked about his selections for the contest he responded, “I selected a mixture of favourites and some mid-range shots to win, going with a number of different drivers since often a number of drivers manage to win one of the races in these contests. I selected Brandon Campbell because his overall his entries looked competitive and I thought he had a legit shot to win two or three races.”
Ryan enjoys spending time at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park where he has been lucky enough to have seen every Gold Cup & Saucer live since 1986.
For the past number of years Shane has also had the chance to announce a few races during Old Home Week, “a real honour as an announcer during the biggest week of harness racing in the Kentucky of Canada. I am planning to be at Old Home Week in 2017 to see the final leg of the WDC along with the Gold Cup and Saucer.”
Shane has won a $50 gift certificate to the racetrack of his choice as well as a $50 I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club prize package.
The second of the two contests was an on-track ‘Pick The Driver’ contest where racing fans selected the driver that they thought would be crowned Canada’s National Driving Champion.
Katie Vaccaro of London, Ontario selected Brandon Campbell and was drawn as the contest winner. Vaccaro is a racing fan who grew up attending racetracks across Ontario with her grandfather. She and her husband now visit The Raceway at the Western Fair District a few times a year to get in on the racing action!
Katie has won an I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club prize package as the contest winner.
Brandon Campbell won the 2016 National Driving Championship and will represent Canada in the 2017 World Driving Championship, which will be hosted by Standardbred Canada at racetracks across the country next August.