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 

"Limited Edition" - Michelle Hogan Harness Artist

This past Saturday night a harness racing artist by the name of Michelle Hogan was honoured at Hanover Raceway for her unique equine artwork. She was also asked to display her work on Balanced Image night for the crowd. During the night Michelle gave away a print of "Blinkers", the cover artwork for the evening program, to one lucky racing fan to take home. Another highlight during the evening Michelle was invited trackside to announce the print winner with Fred Wallace, local sports announcer with Bayshore Broadcasting and voice of the OHL hockey team the Owen Sound Attack.

Michelle's Program Cover From Saturday at Hanover! 

Michelle being interviewed! 

Michelle's artwork on display Saturday night

It all started for Michelle growing up in a community not far from Flamboro Downs. Michelle said "when I was 14 and it was time to look for my first real job I went straight there". Michelle worked as a groom in the backstretch and then at a stud farm before she obtained her trainers licence, and eventually worked as an equine vet assistant. Michelle believes all of those positions ultimately played a role in her artistic development as well as her love for horses. She claims that she wouldn't be the artist she is today without the racing industry. 

Michelle Pictured With Conrad Seelster! 

Michelle has been interested in art for as long as she can remember and took classes at a very young age and she says "I was always drawing horses". Once Michelle started working with standardbreds she was hooked, and therefore this breed became the subject of her art primarily. Though she was passionate, to Michelle the art was mostly a hobby. According to Michelle it wasn't until she met her husband and she moved to the Bruce Peninsula, and she was no longer actively involved in harness racing, that she took her artwork to a professional level. "I now live harness racing through my art, and my art is a reflection of my love for the sport" explains Michelle. And this art does more than catch the eye of horse lovers. Michelle's art is attracting new interest to harness racing as well as serving as a way to give back to the racing community. 

In giving back to the industry, Michelle has recently been partnering with Canadian tracks to hold promotional giveaways in conjunction with providing artwork for their program covers. Hanover Raceway was one of the first tracks to welcome the idea and they have been working closely with Michelle for 2 seasons now for a total of 5 programs/fan giveaways to date so far. Michelle continues to look for more tracks to work with to promote her artwork and offer out her creative program covers. 

Here is more of Michelle's artwork.

Michelle has impressed me a great deal not only with her beautiful artwork, but also for her passion for harness racing. Be sure to follow along with her journey, by giving her a follow on Twitter @HarnessArtist and liking her Facebook page Michelle Hogan-Harness Artist. More information on Michelle and how to buy her prints can be found at www.harnessartist.com. I look forward to see where her amazing art work goes in the future.

Story By Nathan Bain! @NBainracing 

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2018 - A Step in the Right Direction

2018 proved to be a year of stepping stones, moving me closer to my goals in the harness racing industry. I was able to enjoy many different opportunities, learn from pros in the industry, and travel across North America.  I'm thankful for all the things I got the chance to do.

Right off the bat in 2018 on January 2nd I got the chance to be the guest on the the race pre-game show at Western Fair Raceway with track announcer Sugar Doyle. I was asked to provide my selections on the broadcast where I hopefully helped out some of the bettors! The night only got better because Sugar asked me to announce the 8th race, and of course I jumped all over that opportunity. What a way to start the year!

Next stop was Pompano Park on March break to get away from the cold Ontario weather. Just like our first visit, we were treated amazingly by the track announcer, and Director of Racing, Gabe Prewitt, and hall of famer John Berry. We visited the track the first night to take in some racing and a visit to the announcers booth to catch a few races with announcer Gabe Prewitt. I was invited Sunday night to announce the 2nd race. I was nervous and excited at the same time because this was going to be the first 5/8 track that I ever announced at. I was nervous because on a Sunday night there are a lot of "eyes" on the 5/8 Pompano Park oval. In the end I think I did pretty well, though next time I will for sure use binoculars!

My self announcing at Pompano Park Florida!

Mid May we took the trip to Flamboro Downs on a Thursday night so I could call two races that evening. I'm thankful Track announcer Gary Guy once again let me call two races on the card, like he did the year before. Flamboro has always been so welcoming to me when I ask for an opportunity to announce. Gary has always been very good to me, letting me announce at Flamboro and Grand River, and giving me advice after my race calls to help me become a better announcer. I have some great mentors for sure!

Late May was another step in the right direction as I joined the team of Dresden Raceway as the on-track host talking to the crowd between races and holding interviews with drivers after the races. I also provided weekly selections in the front of the program with thoughts on every race, hopefully helping out the betters, I also took on the role of managing the new twitter account and helping out on the Facebook page. I'm thankful General Manger Greg Blanchard brought me on as a part of this team. I was treated so well my first season by the rest of the staff. I especially want to thank Lucille Laprise for sharing the mic with me while she's busy with the promotions, and track announcer Gary Patterson for giving me plenty of time to talk between races and giving me an opportunity to call some races. I enjoyed getting to meet so many new racing fans and hearing their stories of how they got interested in the sport. There are a lot of regulars that attend the races every Sunday afternoon at Dresden, and it has become a tradition for so many over the years. I really hope I can be apart of the Dresden Raceway team once again for the 2019 racing season so I can help make new memories for the fans!

Myself in action at Dresden Raceway.

As last we kicked off the season in August at my home track Leamington Raceway, which is always very exciting for me. Leamington remains the highest wagering of the small tracks in South Western Ontario, with the large Sunday afternoon cards. The great thing about this racetrack is the amazing family environment that it has become. It has grown to be so successful because of the amazing team of people both up front and behind scenes.  Everyone's hard work has definitely paid off at this racetrack. I always look forward to a Sunday afternoon at Leamington because everyone is so friendly from the horse people in the backstrech,to the weekly patrons and new fans to horse racing. Everyone is very supportive and encouraging in my role. Something that I look forward to is my live Facebook pre-game show talking through my selections that day. I enjoy incorporating technology and social media into the sport. As in previous years I was able to talk on the microphone before each race going through my selections for that race, hopefully helping out some of the fans. I also talk about promotions and events going on that certain day, and of course interviews with the winning drivers, those are always a lot of fun to do. I look forward to the 2019 racing season at Leamington Raceway, which kicks off the first Sunday of August and ends the last Sunday of October.

Myself at work at Leamington Raceway

In August I was surprised with an award of a free youth membership to the Canadian chapter of the United States Writers association (USHWA), presented by OHHA President Brian Tropea. It was such an honour and I was very excited about this free youth membership to be part of an amazing organization that I will continue to be a member of. Past President Melissa Kieth has done a great job keeping in contact with me and managing this organization for the past few years. We know we're still in good hands with Garnet Barnsdale arriving as the new President. My duties started with participating in the yearly tele-conference call to discuss nominations for the this year's Dan Patch Awards. How cool is that? After the meeting I was asked to write a 300 word bio on one of the nominees. I really look forward to my future role with this association and hope to be a member for a long time.

Presented By Brian Tropea 

Later in September my Dad and I took off to Delaware Ohio for the most prestigious harness race ever, the "Little Brown Jug". Jugette day on the Wednesday was by far the best as we were in the backstrech tent right along the rail, being able to take in some top notch racing. We were thrilled to be invited to ride in the Mike Woebkenberg starting gate, which was an amazing experience to see how Mike and his wife work together and run the gate. It was an experience I will never forget. To make a perfect day even better, later in the day I was lucky enough to meet the most famous harness racing driver ever John Campbell! John is not only an amazing driver but also, a gentlemen too and was very down to earth. The Jug race was very good and I was very happy to see the Canadian horse Courtly Choice win!

Free shirt from the ride!

Myself with John Campbell!

After the Leamington Raceway season wrapped up, I was invited back to the pregame show with track announcer Sugar Doyle at Western Fair Raceway in London. He also let me call a race and promoted my race picks on display on the TV. It worked out perfectly that night because we had four of our own horses in to race that night, so we all had our work cut out for us! I believe I had 6 winners out of 11 races for my selections that night. I have always had good luck being a guest handicapper in London. I'm very thankful for all the opportunities Sugar has given me in London. I hope to announce in London once again in the future.

Myself with Sugar Doyle

To cap off an another amazing year I was nominated for horse fan of the year for the Post Time With Mike & Mike Awards. I was very excited when I found out I was nominated for a 2nd year in a row so I want to thank whoever took the time to nominate me for horse fan of the year. I was very happy with the outcome of the results, as runner up for the award out of 6 people up for it. I also want to thank the 248 people that took the time to vote for me for this award. I was very excited to be announced as the runner up live during the annual awards show. You can catch their weekly podcast every Thursday morning begining at 10:30 to hear them discuss important & exciting harness racing topics. Here is the link to listen to their show www.posttimewithmikeandmike.com. 

2018 was an amazing year bringing my tally for race calls to 21. Now I am taking time to set my future goals for 2019. Probably my biggest goal for the future is to call my first full race card at a racetrack. I would love it to be at one of the tracks I currently work at since I know a lot of the people and horses there. I believe I am ready for the challenge! Lastly I aspire to announce at a bigger track in 2019, for example a track like Woodbine Mohawk Park. Announcing at that track has been a dream I have had for a long time. Wish me luck!

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