The Raceway at The Western Fair District is gearing up for another exciting season of live harness racing. The opening night program is set for Friday, October 12 with a 7:05 p.m. (ET) first-race post time.
The London oval will host racing every Monday and Tuesday beginning at 4:05 p.m. (ET) and Friday and Saturday nights at 7:05 p.m. through December 31. The first major event on the schedule is the $200,000 (Est.) Forest City Pace for older pacing mares, which is slated for Saturday, November 17.
The opening night program will feature a ‘Meet and Greet’ with some of the top local drivers in the lobby prior to the races. The Top of the Fair Dining Room will play host to a special 'opening night' priced buffet as part of the track’s enhanced dining options for the upcoming season.
Customers are urged to book early for opening night and during the holiday season, which fills up fast.
The ‘Hands On Horses’ program, presented by OHHA, will also be taking place that night, and there will be prize giveaways after each and every race on the program.
“We’re ready to start the season with a bang,” said Western Fair District Marketing Director Sarah Imrie. “It is just the beginning of what promises to be a fantastic meet, and we have a lot planned throughout the entire racing season.”
Imrie and her ‘Be Entertained’ team look forward to exposing new customers to the sport while at the same time offering existing ones a great night out at the track.
Free FM Fridays will be back this year with the local radio station providing ‘live to air’ remotes from the track each Friday. On Saturday nights, the track will partner with OLG to provide live local entertainment in the East Annex throughout the race program.
On the wagering side, the early Pick-4 is back by popular demand and will replace the Pick-5 wager. A new Super Hi-Five wager has been added at a 15 per cent takeout rate. It will be offered on the final race each day, which will feature a nine-horse field and a carryover component if there is no winning ticket.
Also new this year, carryovers will be offered on superfecta wagers. When there is no winning ticket, the entire pool will be carried over to the next race offering superfecta wagering.
“We had a very good meet in 2011/2012, especially in the second half,” said Ian Fleming, the track's general manager. “We wanted to take what worked and continue that while also adding something new to the mix. Our pool size was a strength last year and we expect to grow that even more this year.”
The daily wagering profile is as follows:
W,P,S – All
Daily Double – First two and last two
Ex,Tri – All
Pick -4 – Early (4-7) Late (8-12)
Superfecta – All (excluding last race)
Super Hi-5 – Last
(The Raceway at the Western Fair District)