By: Evan Mathias , Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tilbury Times Reporter
Harness racing is back for another exciting, highly anticipated season at Leamington Raceway.
This year’s edition of harness racing, which kicked off August 11th marks the 11th season of harness racing at Leamington Raceway, Canada’s southernmost harness horse racing track since re-opening in 2013. The season will run for 13 action-packed weeks, culminating on Sunday, November 3rd.
“Of course, every year we look forward to the new season and we strive to have great events where more people will come and our handle gets higher and higher and just to show that it is a welcome industry in this area,” said Ellie Mayhew, promotions manager for the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association. “We want to have a good season. Just to have a lot of entertainment for the fans and to keep them coming back next year and the next and so on.”
The interest in harness racing has grown year after year in Essex County. This season should continue on that path according to track announcer, Nathan Bain.
“The interest in this sport is growing as online viewership has more than doubled year over year since 2021, “said Bain via press release. “Not only does Leamington Raceway stream a lively online broadcast weekly, but we also boast engaging on-track events every Sunday for 13 weeks in addition to the thrill of live racing.”
On top of weekly harness races, Leamington Raceway will play host to several feature events this year, including the Bob McIntosh Memorial Feature (August 25), Kids Day (Sept. 1), Caretaker Day (Sept. 8) and the crowd favourite wiener dog races (Oct. 6).
“We have wiener dog races one day and we get about 20 to 30 dogs entered… it’s really fun, that brings in probably our biggest crowd,” said Mayhew. “Kids day brings in a huge crowd as well. We give away 20 or 25 bikes, different toys, we do t-shirt tosses all kinds of things like that to peak interest. A lot of people come and bring their kids for that day. Those are our two biggest days”
The wide range of special events and races means entertainment and excitement for all ages. Attracting new race fans is always a goal of the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association.
“We are excited to welcome fans back for another thrilling season of harness racing,” said Mark Williams, president of the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association, via press release. “Our lineup of events and the vibrant atmosphere at the track make Leamington Raceway the perfect destination for both seasoned racing fans and newcomers alike.”
Since things have returned to normal following COVID-19 and the raceway is able to hold full capacity events again, Mayhew said that they have noticed a difference with their crowds.
“Our big event days tell it all, what we have noticed in the last few years since COVID finished and we are able to run our regular program and have as many fans as we wanted that we have a lot of new people coming in which is very good and also a lot of younger people,” said Mayhew. “We have our group of seniors that come every Sunday, but we have to attract newcomers to the track and that’s what we’re trying to do with all of our events.”
