2022: A Step In The Right Direction!

For a year that started in Covid-19 restrictions, 2022 surprisingly proved to be a year full of opportunities and new adventures that brought me many new experiences. I’m thankful for every opportunity presented and challenge overcome. There are two things I do at the end of each year; one is add up my lifetime race calls and track them. Going into 2023 at the age of 20 I now sit at 892 race calls in total, gained at 11 different racetracks across North America. The second is to reflect on the journey of the year, both successes and failures, and take the time to set goals for the year ahead. I am a firm believer that hard work, preparation and goal setting pays off in the end.  

 

I have always been taught that success happens when preparation meets opportunity. Well opportunity came knocking in late January, when The Raceway at Western Fair District found themselves without a track announcer.  Seeing a chance for some time in the announcers booth, I reached out to management to let them know I would be interested in filling in whenever possible. What originally was slated to be a four day fill in period turned into 3 months wrapping up at the end of April. Greg Blanchard and I covered the announcing duties during that time and I was able to call three nights out of four which was something that exceeded any goals I had set the previous year. Jumping into the booth at any track is an adjustment as you don’t know how things work, but the team made the transition very easy for me and were very welcoming. It was pretty nerve racking at first and what most people didn’t know at the time is that I was going to St. Clair College full time at the downtown campus in Windsor to continue my studies in Public Relations. This made late nights followed by early mornings balancing homework and projects, but it’s all worth it in the end to chase your dreams in life. I’m so thankful for fellow horse people and family support back home for times I needed a lift to the track as it makes a little easier to ride with other people than to drive by myself every night up and down the 401 in the middle of winter. 

 

At the beginning of the posting, I felt my announcing needed some work and it took some time to get comfortable, but I learned how fill dry air, improve pronunciations and even add some excitement to my calls. I took this as an opportunity to grow as an announcer and over time I knew what I had to fix. I listened to my race calls and would identify areas that needed to be tweaked. In that kind of role, it’s tough to please everybody and I learned to keep my head up high and block the outside noise to focus on what I needed to do. Overall, I will never forget the time as it was one of the best opportunities I have gotten in my career. I am so thankful to management and the team for allowing me to follow my dreams. With the return of track announcer Sugar Doyle my time came to an end and the Sugar Shack was brought back to life in the Eye in the London Sky. He loves this track and the sport, and I appreciate all he taught me since I met him at a young age. I have continued to play a role during this season as the backup announcer and as a regular guest handicapper. 

 After London, I was happy to return to the Dresden Raceway team for the 2022 racing season, as the on-track commentator and backup announcer. It was fun to being able to work trackside and interact with the fans, as well provide selections and interview drivers on the racetrack. It’s good to work in different areas of the business because it gives you a variety of experience. I knew my commentary and interviewing skills needed improvement, so it was perfect at the time. Track announcer Gary Patterson and I have worked together before and we’re a good team. This really shows in our chemistry during the show and our commentary. There is just something special about working at the small tracks, you cannot get that atmosphere anywhere else, where people from young and old are involved in all aspects of the operation. I look forward to seeing what my future holds at Dresden, it has been fun place to work with lots of great people.

 

The summer of the small tracks continued with the opening of Leamington Raceway in early August After traveling so much this year I appreciated only having to drive 30 minutes from the barn to the half mile oval instead of a few hours and to announce so close to home. This was my ninth season working there, as I started at the age of 12 in 2014 and my third season as track announcer. My first job there was opening and closing the gates to enter the racetrack for a few seasons, and it’s crazy to think how far I have come working at Leamington, calling my first race on Kids Day that year.  I am most proud of this past season though, posting the highest season in wagering since Leamington reopened in 2013 by a large margin, seeing improvement in both on track and off-track wagering. Aside from the wagering success, there is just something special about this track’s atmosphere. From the perch of the booth, I can always hear fans cheering for the horse they want to win. That energy always makes your job just a little bit better seeing people enjoy the sport and really get into the action. This is prime example why an on-track atmosphere is so important for a racetrack as it’s the best way to get new people interested and engaged. Leamington recognizes the importance of that factor, that’s why each week features a different theme along with many giveaways and exciting games. By working with social media influencers this year, we were able to tap into a younger more family focused audience that also contributed to this vibe.

 

Personally, I think this past season was my best one so far at Leamington, as I learned to have fun with it at the same time adding some more excitement and building my skill set. The coolest thing of all was having my mother as the on-track host providing selections, interviews and entertaining fans throughout the day. We would also do on camera selections together in the booth and we became quite competitive in our picks. It was unique being a mother/son duo in racing which fans loved, and it helped us fill the dry air on top of that!

 

Aside from working at multiple different racetracks, myself and my father Dave Bain operate a small stable located in Belle River Ontario only 5 minutes away from our house. The horses have been such a good stress reliever from the other side of the business and after long school days, I enjoy the peacefulness of the barn. This past year wasn’t bad at all, as with every stable you have ups and downs, but we did enjoy some good racing luck at both Dresden and London throughout the season. The highlight of the year was getting to be a part of the breeding scene for the first time, as we got a really nice filly out of Dali and beloved stable favorite mare On A Cloud. As of right now it’s the quiet time for us in the winter as traveling can be unpredictable this time of year, so the only one in action right now is Slick N Sporty who has become such a fixture around the barn. One thing I have learned from my dad is that you always put the horse and it’s safety first. Everyone of our horses is treated well and lives a very good life. Bringing horses into my life nine years ago changed everything for me, giving me something to look forward to and goals to work towards. Before I got involved, I was extremely shy and wasn’t comfortable being around other people and it didn’t seem like I was every going to be good at interacting with people. Working with the horses and getting to meet so many new people took me out of my comfort zone, which I am so happy about because I have met so amazing people over the years. 

 

The cherry on top of 2022 had to be that I was named a top three finalist for the Dan Patch Breakthrough award which honors young individuals in the sport who aren’t drivers or trainers. I was so thankful for the initial nomination from my fellow USHWA Canada members, who have supported me every step of the way. I was up against Jessica Hallett who is one of the best up and coming photographers in the sport, and Eddison Hatter the track announcer at Freehold Raceway and does lots of great stuff at the Meadowlands. Although I didn’t end up winning the award, making it as a finalist over there was a huge step forward and I am happy for Eddison he does lots of amazing work in this industry. I would love to win this award in the future, and I will keep working hard in the sport and continue to create opportunities. It’s so important to have young people that can step into these broadcast and management roles in the future to keep the industry sustainable for years to come.

 

Going forward for this year my goals are to pick up some more announcing gigs, travel to some new tracks, get good grades in school and hopefully win some races! Watch for my selections at The Raceway each week and follow me on twitter @NBainracing to stay up to date with me in 2023! 

 

 

 

 

 

Building an Online Audience for Small Town Tracks!

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the small-town tracks in Ontario who usually have their grandstands full every weekend with happy fans, were forced to race without spectators for a good part of their racing season. Seeing these popular grandstands empty was extremely sad, but understandable considering it was in the best interests of everyone’s safety. At one point in each track’s season they were all subject to a restriction of 100 spectators which was at least a step in the right direction. The majority of these spots were filled by owners to watch their horses race, leaving hundreds of people disappointed who wanted the opportunity to go to their hometown track and catch the excitement of harness racing.

There was a lot of uncertainty about how the handle was going to be affected at the small-town tracks, considering they all bet around the range of $3,000-$10,000 on the online platforms historically. Online wagering wasn’t a concern for these racetracks as they would usually handle over $25,000 every race card, that being just on track and that’s something to be proud of. We have an amazing group of small tracks in Ontario, Hiawatha Horse Park, Hanover Raceway, Dresden Raceway, Leamington Raceway, Kawartha Downs and Clinton Raceway. The opening weekend of June 6^th and June 7^th really set the standard for what the handles were going to be like. Some tracks really hit the mark and scored significant bets online and exceeded all expectations for small tracks. Kicking it off for small tracks was Hanover Raceway who really set the bar high with their production.  They had a brand-new broadcast set with a very solid live steam. This seemed to be the theme as many other tracks also invested in brand-new graphic packages and other exciting features like new wagers, Facebook live streams, broadcasts on You Tube and engaging social media. During COVID-19 all these tracks did an excellent job keeping everyone as safe as possible, at the same time doing everything they could to let a limited number of spectators on the grounds.

As opening day was approaching at my home track Leamington Raceway, I happily accepted the job of track announcer for the 2020 racing season, my first break through role in the industry. Going into the racing season I knew we were up against some big challenges and our focus would have to be different to drive our handle than in previous years. In the past, we enjoyed one of the highest on track handles and really only offered online wagering since 2019. We needed a new strategy to build an online audience because it was our only option, and it wasn’t going to be an easy mission to gain a massive audience online like we do in person. We are very thankful for Gerald Hill and the team at OnTrack for setting up a brand-new graphics package for us for the 2020 racing season.  That was the first step in setting up our online presence. Before the meet started, we also purchased a brand-new camera so we could film some interviews of drivers/trainers to incorporate into our live stream, to fill the dry air.  It was also very important that we remind our fans that although you can’t be there in person, that you wager online through the Hpi.com platform and we shared videos how to sign up and place a bet. It was very challenging transitioning fans to wagering online and it wasn’t as easy for us as it was for other tracks in Ontario as a lot of our fans prefer the on-track experience and wagering in person.  Being active on all social media platforms was key to reaching out to all audiences of all ages, and twitter was very valuable to attract horse players online. The online product, or viewer experience was definitely something I wanted to improve and a good solution was having On Track set up a live camera in my announcers both, so I could be on camera between racings offering commentary and selections.

After much preparation and anticipation, opening day was not a good start to the season as we had a low handle. It was disappointing to say the least, but it provided motivation to work out the bugs and fix the issues for the following weeks. The technical challenges we experienced (including losing our stream for the first 3 races) were not the only reasons for the low handle. For the first two weeks spectators were not allowed, coupled with the challenge of only being available to wager in some parts of Canada and no US wagering sites the odds were against us. The first couple of weeks were a struggle but it gave a chance for us to work on the brand-new stream, making sure it was stable, clear and adding new features. As the third week rolled along, things started to turn the corner as we were allowed 100 spectators and we got back our pick 4 and pick 3 that we had in previous years, but still weren’t on US wagering sites. By the fourth week we finally got on a couple US wagering sites like the other small tracks and it certainly gave our handle a boost, we were also available in more parts of Canada and fans were happy about that. We were thankful for the team at Hpi Bet for doing all they could to get us on those sites, also fans in the US for requesting the sites to add us as a racetrack.

At this point, post time coordination was very important because we didn’t want to be running over other racetracks and have our races going off at the same time. As for the drag the most we would ever go past 0 minutes is 1 minute, anything past that is not fair to our fans, horse people and drivers, also could make you lose interest. Wagering really began to pick up in September as we started to gain more of an online audience, consistency on social media began to pay off as we started to gain more of an audience online. People started to share our content online and talk about wagering on Leamington, Twitter is a must to build an Online audience. Our Facebook live streams of each race card were getting more views every week along with our YouTube live stream.  These streams really opened our races up to a brand-new audience that typically wouldn’t watch the races. In October, our last month of the racing season, we were seeing over 100 horses entered in the box each week which was amazing, our race secretary Jan Adams always does a fantastic job at making the races competitive. It was surprising to see how strong the wagering was in October as that was usually our weakest month, it was also great to see our online fan base grow and people taking about our racing on social media. Our strongest day of the meet was closing day on October 25^th with wagering just shy of $39,000 and most of that was wagered online, that’s pretty impressive for a small-town track. In 2019 on closing day, we wagered around $33,000 with only $5,000 of it wagered online, in 2020 there was around $27,000 wagered online and just under $12,000 on track and that’s with only 100 spectators. That was a great way to cap off the season with a challenging start, we are so thankful for our amazing fans and the support they have shown us since the return of racing.

As I reflect on the racing season, I am super thankful for the opportunity to be the announcer and for everyone’s support I received. Hats off to Hoof bid and USHWA Canada for offering a great youth handicapping contest I participated in with Nick Barnsdale, thanks to Garnet Barnsdale and Melissa Keith for all their hard work. Seeing different handicappers with selections really makes it exciting, that’s why we had 3 handicappers offer selections on our live stream every week to give our racing fans a varity of selections. Our live stream also made incredible advances with new graphics, following of horses after the post parade along with statistics, instant stretch replay after the race and the races being a lot clearer. The biggest achievement of the meet I have to say is that the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association kept everyone safe; a big thank you to all the amazing horse people, staff and fans, who did a fantastic job following the protocols. When the 2021 season kicks off, I hope we can continue to improve our live stream and add new features to it, also hoping we can have more of our fans back and get back to getting more young fans.  On the wagering side I’m hoping we can expand our wagering menu and add some exciting bets, it would also be nice to get a lower take on our pick 4 because I think the wager really finished off nice at the end of the meet. I cannot wait for opening day at Leamington Raceway on August 8^th with a brand-new post time of 1pm, l believe that it will be a very exciting racing season.

In Conclusion, I am very hopeful for the future of small tracks in Ontario as they have made major advancements with technology in the last year. Its very important that we keep our small tracks around as they are very important to rural communities and give young people like myself a chance to start out in the industry, lets continue to support these tracks in any way we can.

By Nathan Bain 

The Road to 100 Race Calls!

My journey began at the young age of 11 years old when I started pretending to call harness races from old programs in my living room. I dreamed of calling a real race one day. That dream became a reality much quicker than I anticipated, in October of the 2014 racing season at Leamington Raceway. I approached the racetrack executive about calling a race on kid’s day. I was thrilled when Lakeshore Horse Racing Association and track announcer Marty Adler approved me to announce a race on Kids day. The date was October 19^th 2014 and I was extremely nervous because I was only 12 years old at the time. I kept practising the horses over and over in my head, to prepare. There was a huge crowd and luckily the call was decent and I was happy with it. Ever since then I started calling a race at every kid’s day event and the odd race occasionally to help get myself some practise. All the practise helped me for the 2019 racing season where I got to call two races every single race card, which was an amazing opportunity. During the 2019 season I also got to announce my first full race card on September 1^st with 10 races. I was thankful for all the family and friends that came out to support me that day. Its been an amazing journey at Leamington Raceway, where I started working in 2014 in the backstretch opening and closing the gates for the horses. In 2017 I got to take on a new challenge, in a new position as track host, where I host interviews and live prerace shows as well as providing trackside commentary. All those things have certainly helped me as a young race caller, I am so thankful for all the opportunities Leamington Raceway and Lakeshore Horse Racing Association has given me.

More doors opened in May 2017 when I was invited to announce some races at Flamboro Downs thanks to track announcer Gary Guy. This was a huge opportunity for me because it was the first bigger track I got to announce at and I was only 15 at the time. I was happy with how the couple of races that I announced went. Later in August 2017 Gary Guy gave me the mic again, this time at Grand River Raceway, and I was very pumped to announce at another big track. Getting opportunities at these type of tracks was a huge step forward for me especially getting to do it at the age of 15, which led to even more invitations within the next year.

Later in 2017, between Christmas and New Years, I connected with Ayers Ratliff at Northfield Park for the first time and he responded with a generous offer to announce my first call in the United States. I really enjoyed meeting announcer Ayers Ratliff and co-worker Michael Carter who made me feel at comfortable at the home of the flying turns in Ohio. That snowy night proved challenging and I had my first experience calling a race in blizzard-like conditions. I can still remember the white out at the finish line! Regardless, the call still went well and I was able to post my call online. The tracks in Ohio have a huge fan base and this experience really helped me get my name out there and get more of a social media following. Social media is the key to promotion of my work in the industry.

Following on the momentum built at Northfield, I jumped on an invite in early January in 2018 by London’s Western Fair Raceway announcer Shannon Sugar Doyle to be a guest on his prerace show providing my selections for the race card and chatting about my passion for the industry. I was pleasantly surprised when Sugar asked me to call a race during the card that night, which I had been dying to do since I called my first race! It was addicting though and it made me want to call more. Luckily I have been invited back a few times and now feel quite comfortable in the “eye in the London sky”. Sugar really has gone out of his way to give me experience whenever he can. The industry needs more people like him who celebrate other people’s success! London fans have been amazingly supportive as well and I feel like I am heading in the right direction towards making an impression in the Toronto area. I haven’t received my chance yet, but I am ready for when it happens.

2018 kept rolling with a warm invite in March to announce at my 5^th track, which happened to be Pompano Park during our March break vacation. This was the biggest track I have announced at and I was more nervous being it is a 5/8 mile track and I’ve only ever announced at ½ mile tracks.  I wanted to give this a shot though and see what happened. Turns out, it wasn’t my best race call but I learned some tricks that I knew would help me in the future.  Announcer Gabe Prewitt was understanding and helpful, knowing I would improve for my next visit that would happen the following March in 2019. That year I definitely had more confidence, that is until legendary announcer Frank Salive and Hall of Fame driver John Campbell showed up in the announcer booth to listen to my call! Talk about pressure!  What a memory that I will treasure forever. I was pumped to go back to Florida this past March but unfortunately COVID-19 put a stop to that. This is definitely one of my favourite tracks to go to because of the history there, the sunshine and of course how welcoming Gabe Prewitt and John Berry have always been. I look forward to going back in the future. 

2018 continued to be exciting when in May I got an exciting job opportunity at Dresden Raceway, being the Ontrack host, twitter social media coordinator, program handicapper and backup announcer. This was amazing for me because I was only 16 at the time and this meant more chances to call races and do interviews, and I was getting a lot more time behind the mic. I returned in the 2019 racing season and by this time track announcer Gary Patterson let me call two races every card. Gary has given me the most opportunities out of anyone and I’m so thankful for all the mentoring he has given me. I really hope I get to be involved in Dresden in the future, I have really enjoyed my time there. 

The 8^th track I got to announce at is Miami Valley Raceway in Ohio, when a connection with starting gate driver Mike Woebkenberg led us to making a trip to that racetrack in April 2019. When we arrived at the track, I got to meet track announcer Barry Vicroy and I asked him if I could call on the 5/8 track. Not only did he say yes but he said I could call two races!  To make that night even better I got to go on the live prerace show before I announced to talk about my selections for that race and to talk about my story in the harness racing business. It was a lot of fun that night at this racetrack, especially getting to ride in the Mike Woebkenberg starting gate for a couple of races. That was a great thrill! Overall, this was an exceptionally good experience and opportunity getting to announce at another big track, it helped me gain more experience on a 5/8 track and get more races under my belt. By far the biggest stepping stone yet came on a Saturday night in September 2019 at Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia when I got to fill in as announcer for the 11-race card at the age of 17. I jumped all over the opportunity when track announcer Dave Walls reached out to me to see if I was up to the challenge. I was ready and I put a lot of preparation into it. I knew this was what I had been working towards for the past 5 years. Calling the entire card that night was a dream come true and I really hope I get to call more full cards in the future. I know that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Each year I set goals for things I want to accomplish. For 2020 I set two goals. The first was to reach 100 race calls by my 18^th birthday in March and the second was to announce a race at Woodbine Mohawk Park. It did not take long to reach my goal of 100 race calls lifetime, and it happened 3 weeks before my 18^th birthday so it was perfect timing. I reached my goal on Friday February 7^th at Western Fair Raceway, when track announcer Sugar Doyle reached out to me asking if I could call a couple races on the Friday night and of course I said yes. I went up that night to call the 6^th race and I was sitting at 95 lifetime calls so I was very close to my goal. After calling one race Sugar asked me to call a couple more. At race 9 I was now sitting at 99 lifetime race calls. I was cautiously optimistic that this would happen for me that night! After my 99^th race call in the 9^th race Sugar gave me the go ahead to call the 10^th race and I was over the moon because I knew my goal was going to be realized that night. I am very thankful that Sugar Doyle and Western Fair Raceway gave me this opportunity to call the entire second half of the race card that night to reach my goal. I was so happy with all the hits I got on social media and that I was able to reach my goal of 100 race calls in my teenage years. After that experience I now sit at 100 race calls lifetime and have announced at 9 different racetracks overall.

Sadly, I have not gotten any announcing opportunities with all the racetracks shut down due to covid-19, but luckily, I still have our horses that I can help with. With school switching to online and racing being cancelled working with the horses is one of the only things left to do. This time has given me a chance to learn more about the other side of the business and I am enjoying it. This knowledge will help me in my career to be more well rounded in the industry. Hands on experience is so important. Jogging the horses is my favourite part because its such an up-close and fun experience, its something that I have to look forward to during this pandemic. We currently have 6 horses in our stable so it’s been keeping us busy, with 3 horses currently in training and the other 3 horses still jogging only. The horse that has caught my attention is our 2yr old Up the Credit filly “Recall Tootsie” and she is very good to jog. She is a bit behind in training because we bought her late, but she is coming along very well. Our stable is very much looking forward to the return of racing in early June.

In conclusion I want to thank everybody who has given me opportunities to help me reach 100 race calls in my teenage years, and thanks to you it’s been such a fun journey so far. Lastly if I could give any advice to other young race callers it would be that you must set goals and work hard to achieve them. You have to work hard to create opportunities to be successful, opportunities don’t just come to you without earning them.

By Nathan Bain



Follow me on Twitter @NBainracing

Harness Racing Trainers : Back Bone of The Industry!

Trainers in harness racing are often referred to as the backbone of the industry. As something I am personally working on learning more about, I wanted to get some perspective from the industry, directly from experienced standardbred horse trainers. I know they are the ones who work with the horses all week-long jogging, training and making the decisions for where the horses are to race, but what else lies beneath the surface? This past week I had the chance to interview 5 different trainers and ask them some in depth questions about their personal histories in the industry. Questions like “how long have you been a trainer for?”, and “who taught you the ropes of the industry?” I was most curious to learn what horse of theirs has impressed them the most, and what their biggest challenges they face as a trainer are. Of course we all want to know…. “how do you choose a driver for your horse?”. Lastly, I asked them about how their stable is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, something that has impacted the whole world, right down to our stables. Find out below what these talented trainers had to say.

Bob Mcintosh

As a veteran of the sport, Bob was literally born into the industry since his dad Jack Mcintosh stabled 6-7 horses at any given time. Bob was around horses ever since he could walk and every summer he would travel with his dad to different racetracks. Once Bob graduated high school, he went to work for his brother Doug, but it wasn’t long until he got his very own stable in 1977. The horse that Bob has been the impressed with over his career is Western Shooter who unfortunately died at young age.  Bob remembers this colt as the fastest horse he ever drew a line over and he almost made $1 million in his 2-year-old season. When this horse died because of an infection it was by far the worse day of Bob’s life as he had unreal talent. Western Shooter could pace a quarter in 26 seconds without trying. Surely this set the bar high for future horses in the Mcintosh stable! 


Currently Bob has 42 horses in training and 20 broodmares. He personally doesn’t believe in buying horses from the sales anymore, and all his stock is home bred. Bob feels the biggest challenge as a trainer is that you can have a great looking 2-year-old and than one step they have a broken bone and you’re out of business with that horse. A financial challenge has resulted since the closure of Windsor Raceway. Bob lives in Lasalle, which was literally a few minutes from Windsor Raceway. Now, shipping to Mohawk on a regular basis, the overhead keeps going up with increased fuel costs as well as wear and tear on the truck and trailers. Something that has never been a big challenge for Bob is choosing drivers for his horses. Bob learned how to choose a driver from his dad Jack, who would always hire the top driver at every track, which would give him an edge, which was the beginning of the practice of catch drivers in the 1950s. Bob himself has always gone with the top guys like John Campbell and Bill O’Donnell. Like his father, Bob feels you always give yourself an edge if you go with the top drivers. At this moment Bob’s main driver is Trevor Henry who Bob feels does a great job for him on the track. 


During this Covid-19 pandemic Bob feels it is very nerve racking and that it would just be easier if everyone knew when they could go back racing. Its also very stressful for a trainer with a big payroll and not much income coming in now, but to Bob it’s not the end of the world. Last year was a massive year for Bob as he reached $100 million in career earning as a trainer. He is a legend, and it was a pleasure to interview a well-known trainer who has been inducted into the harness racing hall of fame. 

Mike Rogers 

Another well known trainer in the Windsor area, Mike Rogers has been training horses for over 27 years and has loved every minute of it. He learned the majority of the business from Paul Ruhl and Greg Britton, who taught him the ropes of the industry. When asked to share his thoughts of all the horses he has had over the years, the one that has been the most impressive to Mike is Leafs And Wings, the classy 13 year old son of Rambaran, with a lifetime mark of 1:50.2 at Mohawk and over $520,000 in lifetime earnings. Mike’s stable has downsized recently with just 4 horses currently in the stable, which is a good size during times like these. In good times to make sure his horses are successful, Mike likes using different drivers for different horses because sometimes a horse and driver don’t always get along. Like many trainers in our area, Mike feels the biggest challenge of being a trainer is shipping to race because of his regular job. It’s a balancing act when one is not a trainer full time.  A current challenge for all trainers is the Covid-19 pandemic, Mike feels it is tough for everyone just trying to keep their horses tight and ready for when everyone gets the all clear to race again. 

Gord McDonnell 

Gord has now trained standardbreds for 35 years and has plenty of experience in the business. He got his start in the industry by working for stables like Rod Duford and Greg Wright, which led him to having a stable of his own. Gord currently has a stable of 9 horses in his barn, with Woodmere Wyldstyle being the most impressive to him. You often see this mare in the higher-level classes at Western Fair Raceway, where she also won the award for aged pacing mare of the year at their annual awards banquet. 


Gord feels the biggest challenges of being a trainer is finding the right classes to enter your horses in, also trying to keep them sound and healthy on a regular basis. As for entering horses, choosing your driver is very important, Gord chooses them by talent, how they manage his horses in the race and he also must like them as a person.  


During Covid-19, Gord finds it more difficult for the people that racehorses, than the horses themselves as they are enjoying some down time. Gord’s horses are still training but get a lot more paddock time. It is also worth mentioning that Gord was the winner of the horseman award at the Wespy (Windsor Essex Sportspersons of the Year) awards on March 10^th. 

Taylor Spitzig 

Shifting gears, I wanted to get some perspective from a different demographic and decided to reach out to Taylor Spitzig. Taylor has been training horses for 8 years now, and her dad Rusty taught her most of what she knows about the industry to this day. She has also learned a lot from other trainers George Little, Bob Young, Travis and Alaina Alexander and Chris Johnston. The horse that has impressed Taylor the most so far is Petty Rapid Dash, who is a 3-year-old filly out of Rocknroll King out of an unraced Intrepid Seelster mare Rapid Riley. This filly has come a long way since she started. Mark Williams broke the filly for Taylor and Rusty, and the filly took some time to get going. It was a long road for the filly to learn how to pace but now she’s got it figured out, she is currently the best filly Taylor has training. Unfortunately, this filly was only a week or two from qualifying before all the tracks shut down due to Covid-19. 


Currently, Taylor is going with six 3-year old’s, five of which are Rocknroll kings and an Indiana sired filly out of Bring on the Beach who is a full brother to SomeBeachSomeWhere. Taylor feels the biggest challenge as a trainer is dealing with lame or sick horses, because when they are sick or lame, you miss out on racing which is tough as people in the business rely on their horses racing week in and week out. When you miss out on racing for some time it can be hard to keep your head above water financially. 


As for choosing a driver Taylor usually tries to go with drivers that she’s had luck within the past, or a driver that currently has hot hands. Lorne House is usually her go-to driver; he has always given Taylor advice after the race to help for the next week. The thing she likes about using Lorne is that he treats every horse the same and gives them the best shot to be successful. During these tough times, Covid-19 hasn’t really affected Taylor’s stable other than not being able to race, but they are still in business as usual. Their horses are still jogging every day, training twice a week so that they are ready when racing returns.

Danielle St Louis 

A rising star in Southern Ontario, Danielle got her trainers licence around 12 years ago. She has worked with many people that have taught her about the industry, but her husband Marc St Louis Jr, has been with her the whole time and taught her the most of what she knows to this day. Danielle has really built up her stable as she currently has a busy barn of 17 horses. The horse that has impressed her the most is Phoos Girl because they claimed this mare for $4,800 and she has turned into a preferred pacer on the Ontario circuit. She is all heart and tries every single week. Choosing a driver for Danielle is no worries as her husband was the leading driver for wins in Canada for 2019.  If she had to select a driver, she would definitely opt for an aggressive one. 


2019 was a banner year for Danielle as she won the leading trainer title at four different tracks across Southwestern Ontario, including Hiawatha Horse Park, Dresden Raceway, Leamington Raceway and Western Fair Raceway. 2020 was off to another good start at Western Fair Raceway being tied for leading trainer, but that run has been interrupted. During the Covid-19 pandemic Danielle has been dealing with it day by day in her stable. Obviously, she knows it is not ideal but there is nothing else you can do about it and you must keep moving forward. Whatever happens she will be ready when racing returns!



In conclusion I want to thank these trainers for taking the time to answer my questions. Their advice will be very helpful to up and coming trainers in the industry. One thing these trainers for sure have in common is that all of them cannot wait for racing to return and these challenging times to be over. Luckily all horse racing people are strong, and we will get through this together. I hope to see you all soon! 


Article by Nathan Bain

Follow me on Twitter @NBainracing

2019 - A year to Reflect On

2019 proved to be to a very successful year for me in the harness racing industry completing some of my goals. I'm so thankful for all the opportunities I was given by all the racetracks I went to. After 2019 I have now announced at 9 different racetracks and over 95 race calls lifetime, this was the best year because I got over 50 race calls this year.

It all kicked off on my Birthday at Western Fair Raceway when track announcer Sugar Doyle let me call a race which was pretty cool to do on my 17th birthday. Sugar has been a great mentor to me now for over 5 years, I'm very thankful for all the tips and advice he has given me. Overall it was a very fun night celebrating my birthday with Family at The Top of The Fair.

A few weeks later we took a trip to Pompano Florida to get away from the cold weather for vacation and we spent many nights at Pompano Park enjoying the races. One day that week I had the opportunity to tour the Chris Oakes stable in the back stretch and meet all his horses stabled there. I even got my picture taken with one of the fastest trotters ever, Homicide Hunter. The highlight was when I got the chance to call a race, which I was really nervous for, I prepped really hard for this race call and I felt it went well. When I was up in the announcers both we got a special surprise from Frank Salive and John Campbell, which was an amazing and unexpected surprise. Me and my family always love going to Pompano in March because of how cool the track is and how good we are treated by Gabe Prewitt and John Berry.

Mid April we went on a weekend trip to Miami Valley Raceway to take in the great racing action and to meet up with Mike Woebkenberg to see him after he purchased a truck off of our family dealership to turn it into a starting gate. Mike gave us a tour of their massive 14 race paddock which was pretty cool to see. After the tour I got to meet Ken Terpenning so he could do an interview with me for his racing page on Facebook.  He does so much promoting for the industry through the power of social media so I was happy to be a part of that! Before the races started Brett Merkle from the OHHA was kind enough to give us a ride to the grandstand and bring us up the announcers both. Once we got up there I got to meet track announcer Barry Vicory and the TV host the Wizard (Pacey Mindlin). I got to appear on the show with the Wizard and he asked me some questions about myself and I got to give my selections for the upcoming race. After that Barry let me get behind the mic to call two races which was a lot of fun, and he also gave me some helpful tips for the future. To end off an amazing night Mike & his wife Becky let my mom and I ride in the starting gate for 4 races, now that was a pretty cool way to end off the night.

April was a huge month for me as I was featured in a 3 page article in Hoof Beats magazine which is one of the best harness racing magazines in the industry. The amazing article was written by Matt Dorsey who did a fantastic job and filled the article with very informative information about my story in harness racing. This article would never have happened if it was not for Kimberly French who put all this together and made it all happen. This article was a huge stepping stone for me as thousands of people read this magazine and they also put my name on the front cover which was pretty cool, I was very thankful for this.

In mid May the Dresden Raceway season kicked off and I was excited to be part of the team once again. My role was on track host/race commentator, social media coordinator and I also put weekly selections in the program. This season was a huge step forward for me as track announcer Gary Patterson let me announce two races every single race day adding up my number of race calls. My favorite part of the season was getting to call my first Ontario sires stakes race on Canada Day which was very memorable. I really enjoyed the opportunity to host some on track interviews that day after the OSS race. The Mark Austin Pacing Series is always a highlight of the Dresden season which consists of maiden pacers, and the 2019 winner was Premier Rockstar and Scott Young. 

After Dresden ended that meant it was time to head over to Leamington Raceway for my 6th season working there in a role that is very similar to my role at Dresden. This was a very special season because I got to live my dream of calling an entire card of racing at the age of 17.This was an amazing day and I had so much support by family and friends there that day. I want to thank track announcer Gary Patterson for giving me the opportunity, as well as Ellie Mayhew for pushing for this to happen and of course the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association. This season I also got to call two races on every card which was a huge stepping stone, and I also interviewed at least one driver per race day because the fans always love hearing from the drivers and their thoughts on the horses racing. Leamington is just overall an amazing and fun place to work with its family atmosphere and programming. This success in the 2019 racing season led to an increase in wagering by 22% which I hope continues into the 2020 racing season which kicks off on Sunday August 9th.

Just 6 days after I called my first full card, I got the opportunity to fill in at Hiawatha Horse Park for track announcer Dave Walls for an 11 race card on the 5/8 oval. This was the biggest stepping stone yet because this was the first time I got to fill in as track announcer, and I would love more opportunities. What I liked about this opportunity was that it gave me more of a challenge calling on the 5/8 track and getting to call 9 horse fields. It was a very fun night getting to announce everything on my own, one of the best opportunities I have gotten yet. During the night I also added in my regular commentary between the post parade and the race to try and help the fans with selections.

On Saturday October 26th I got to experience my first ever Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park to see some world class racing. It was an amazing night of racing with speedy times even with having to deal with the rain and cold. The Breeders Crown is amazing because it offers categories from 2yrs both pacers and trotters and 3yrs to aged horses, my favorite race of the night was Bold Eagle winning the open trot. Before the races started I attended a meeting at the Mohawk Inn as part of my youth membership as part of the Canadian Chapter of the United Sates Harness Writers Association. The meeting was about trying to grow youth involvement in the industry. The people that attended the meeting was chapter president Garnet Barnsdale, Ryan Clements, Melissa Keith, Bill Gavin and the other youth member Nicholas Ace Barnsdale. We all put our ideas together and decided on the idea to publish racetrack review's that give credit to the tracks who are good at promoting and involving youth with the idea to encourage other tracks to join the movement. The idea was launched on January 19th with the first review featuring Leamington Raceway that was written by myself. I was happy about the cover it got by being on Harness link, Standardbred Canada and everyone sharing it on their social media.

Also in October we got a special visit from Hall of Fame announcer Roger Huston who came to Leamington Raceway for a day of racing to call some races, sign autographs and sell some of his new books about his career as an announcer. Roger has made a visit to Leamington every year now since 2016 when his Ontario tour began that is all organized by Randy Pullen. During the day Roger called the first 6 races then went done to a booth to sign autographs and interact with all the racing fans who were excited to meet him. After Roger got to announce I got to go up and announce a couple races and one of the races was the Roger Huston Pace and I was certainly feeling a bit of pressure announcing after Roger. We are really thankful for all the visits Roger has made to Leamington Raceway, we hope to have him back again for the 2020 racing season. 

To wrap up 2019 my family and I headed to Western Fair Raceway on boxing day to enjoy some top notch racing at the busy Top of the Fair Clubhouse. I knew Greg Blanchard was filling in for Sugar Doyle, so I reached out to Greg about calling a race and he was more than happy to give me that opportunity and I was pretty excited to call a race on the Boxing Day card. When I got up to the booth it got even better as Greg offered for me to call three races in a row and of course I jumped all over that exciting opportunity, it was pretty amazing getting to call a couple races in a row at a bigger track like London. I'm pretty thankful for all the amazing opportunities London has given me over the last couple of years.  

Going into every year, I always set goals ahead of me that I want to accomplish. This year for my short term goal I want to hit 100 race calls by my 18th birthday on March 1st, which I'm 5 calls away from. My longer term goals are to eventually call a race at top tracks like Woodbine Mohawk Park or Meadowlands, getting to announce at one of these tracks would be a dream come true. When goals become a reality its sure an amazing feeling that's why I love to set goals. 

In conclusion I want to thank everyone who gave me opportunities in 2019 and took the time to teach me and give helpful tips. I also want to thank my family for their continued support and always being there for me. I really look forward to what the rest of 2020 brings and what other opportunities will come my way.

By Nathan Bain
Follow me on Twitter-@NBainracing

Another Successful Season In The Books For Leamington Raceway

Another successful racing season wrapped up this past Sunday afternoon at Leamington Raceway with very impressive rising numbers. Wagering is up 20% for the season with an average of over $35,000 bet per race card, which is the highest of any of the tracks in Southwestern Ontario. This is partly attributed to the addition of Hpi Bet, meeting the demands of fans wanting to watch the races and bet from their mobile devices with our new live stream. Leamington also saw an increase in purses this year making the racing fields even more competitive. Racing secretary Jan Adams did a fantastic job making full fields and competitive races all season. Overall 2019 was another record breaking season for Lakeshore Horse Racing association. 

Horses behind the gate at Leamington Raceway

Myself interviewing Marc St Louis Jr

For leading driver and trainer this year we are celebrating  the husband and wife team of Marc and Danielle St. Louis.  Marc St Louis took leading driver with 38 wins this season with Tyler Borth in 2nd with 19 driving wins and Nick Steward came 3rd with 18 wins. Danielle St Louis took the leading training title with 13 wins this season, George Robinson and Gord Mcdonnell tied for 2nd place with 11 wins each, there was 129 races contested this season. 

Highlights of events we had this year include kids day which is always a huge day for us as we giveaway bicycles, have face painting going on and we have Wanna Drive cone to give the kids a ride around the track behind a race horse. Kids are always welcome to enjoy the races every race day at Leamington Raceway! Another popular event was our 5th annual wiener dog races which packed the grandstand to see all the dogs in action. Lastly Roger Huston Day was a great event for our 2nd last day of racing, this was Roger's 4th visit to Leamington overall. Each and every event this year was a huge hit and loved by all the racing fans at Leamington, thanks to the planning by promotions manger Ellie Mayhew.

Social media also played a positive role in our racing with the social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Each of these sites reaches different age groups helping us gain many new fans of all ages. It's so good be reaching new fans through social media to ensure our industry has a solid future with new generations learning the harness racing industry. On these sites we provided a poster about the race days events to tell our fans what's going on, these posters are very catchy and creative, Kathy Leon does a fantastic job with these weekly ads.

On the broadcasting side of things myself and track announcer Gary Patterson made a great broadcasting team with back and forth commentary throughout out the day. I would always provide commentary of my selections before the race then send it back up to Gary to call it. Gary has given me plenty of opportunities letting me call a couple of races every day at Leamington and Dresden. I was even fortunate enough to call an entire card of racing which was huge for me at the age 17. I also liked to get at least one or two driver interviews a day because the fans love to hear the drivers and learn about them. I would ask the drivers about how they thought the race went for them and some other questions about the race. Near the end of the meet we introduced the game "Press Your Luck" for a chance to win up to $500 which Gary handled and interviewed the fans while playing the game. A natural entertainer,  he did a fantastic job at it. Every week before the races I hosted a live prerace show on our Facebook page going through my selections that are at the front of the program, hopefully it helped out some of the bettors.

A Huge thanks goes out to all our amazing fans for filling the grandstand every week. I have said this many times before, we have the best fans of any racetrack in the world because they love the sport and the track and just love spending an afternoon at Leamington Raceway with a smile on their face. It's so great to see the diverse group of fans that come to the races every week from the ones who have been going to the races for years and love it, to the families who come out to the track with their kids and newcomers. This track has become such an amazing family atmosphere, which is so great to see the sport growing with new fans every week, which was one of the groups goals from the beginning. We do weekly t-shirt tosses and giveaways  for our fans to thank them all for their support. I always look forward to talking to race fans about the races and selections they have for the card of racing.

This year's winner of the Lakeshore Cup was the 3yr colt Sportsline the son of Sportswritter, driven by Drew Neill in a time of 1:57.2 for trainer Jim Watt. This colt has now nearly banked $120,000 in 2019 and took a lifetime mark earlier this year at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:50.3, Sportsline also set a new record for the fastest 3yr colt ever at Leamington Raceway. Behind Sportsline Was Njs Trick Pistol and Marc St Louis who finished 2nd in the Lakeshore Cup and OldfriendsKentucky finished 3rd driven by Nick Steward.

On Closing day President of the Lakeshore Horse Association Mark Williams and director Tom Bain came up to the grandstand to say a few words to the racing fans about the meet. Mark Williams took the mic and thanked the fans for all their support every single race day, he also went on to thank all the horse people and drivers racing at Leamington Raceway each week. Lastly he thanked all the dedicated staff of Leamington Raceway for all their hard work putting on an amazing show every raceday. General manger Wayne Martinuik was also very pleased with the rise in the handle and the crowd.

In conclusion I would just like to thank everyone for their support and making Leamington Raceway a huge success, I cant to see what the 2020 racing season brings.

Story By Nathan Bain