Harness racing season set to begin Aug. 8

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — Work is currently underway to prepare Leamington Raceway for the upcoming harness racing season which starts Sunday, August 8.

Lakeshore Horse Racing Association members, along with board members from the Leamington Agricultural Society, have had a busy spring and summer so far.

“We’ve made upgrades to the grandstand, the paddock and are bringing in a new tote board,” said Lakeshore board member Tom Bain.

The tote board itself will be a big change from recent years. The old tote board was torn down several years ago.

According to Ag Society President Dan Wiper, the grandstand is getting a major facelift.

“It’s been painted up top and underneath and we’re just waiting on new plexiglass for the ends,” he said.

Renovations have been made possible through a grant from the provincial government to the tune of about $375,000.

“Were also updating our website and the work in the paddock is really something to see,” said Bain.

The Leamington paddock — a $300,000 investment a few years ago — now has an office and washroom/shower areas for the drivers.

“It also has space for 10 horses,” said Bain. “Dresden only has space for one horse.”

All of the paddock improvements will help to draw horse and drivers from all over Ontario and surrounding states, which will be a positive step for the raceway.

Last year’s season was affected by no in-person attendance until about Labour Day weekend, and even then, only 100 patrons were allowed on the property due to COVID rules.

SUN photo

This year, it’s looking like between 500 and 1,000 people can be onsite, which makes Bain and other horsemen very happy.

“The horsemen are very excited to have people there,” he said. “We have a family atmosphere and hope that people bring their kids out.”

In addition to the harness racing, Bain says that they have lots of activities planned for the youngsters, such as meeting the horses and getting to ride around the track on a sulky bike.

In addition to online betting through HPIBet. com, Bain says this year’s in-person betting will bring things back to normal.

“The online betting has been great, but people like to see the horses they’re betting on,” he said. “There’s a certain feeling to being at the track.”

Leamington’s track has long been considered one of the best half-mile tracks in the province.

Now, with the paddock upgrades and the grandstand upgrades, Bain is hoping they can bring people out for some good old fashioned family entertainment. Most weeks will feature a 10-race card, with the maximum seven horses in each race.

One big change this year is the opening post time for Race 1, which has been moved to 1:00 p.m. from the 1:30 p.m. start time. Race cards will run every Sunday through October 31.

It’s only a matter of time before the PA system at Leamington Raceway is blaring, “And they’re off!”

Standardbred horses leave the gate at Leamington Raceway in 2020.