THE RACEWAY SURPASSES RECORD HANDLE: ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF TRAINING CENTRE
THE RACEWAY SURPASSES RECORD HANDLE: ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF TRAINING CENTRE
London, April 4, 2024 – The Raceway at Western Fair District will enter its busiest stretch of the racing season on the heels of another record-setting wagering year at the London, Ontario half-mile oval.
The Friday, March 29th program capped off the 2023/24 Ontario Racing fiscal year with a total of $58,468,000 wagered over 121 race dates, surpassing last year’s record number of $56,709,000. The 3% increase in total handle matched a 3% increase in per race handle over the same period.
The highwater benchmark for the meet came on the Tuesday, January 30th program when $852,000 was wagered on the 12-race program.
“It’s very encouraging to eclipse last year’s record wagering numbers,” said Director of Equine Programming, Greg Blanchard. “The numbers are solid for a small half-mile track such as ours and is something that our entire team takes pride in. It gives us a nice boost as we head into the final two months of our Spring meet – our most exciting part of the season.”
The Raceway will play host to the Ontario Regional Driving Championship for the sixth time on Tuesday, April 23. Nine of Ontario’s top reinsmen will square off in the nine-race competition with the top finishers qualifying for the National championship later this summer in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The field will be headlined by former World Driving Champion and multiple O’Brien Award winner James MacDonald.
Live racing will also return to London on Saturday, May 4th, Kentucky Derby Day, with a special 12:55 p.m. start time. The Top Of The Fair dining room will feature a ‘Southern Style’ menu that day and there will also be food trucks on hand on the patio. The ‘Dacshund Derby’ weiner dog races return and there will be contests for best hat and for picking the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby.
The track’s signature event, the $150,000 Camluck Classic Invitational, sponsored by Seelster Farms, is slated for Friday, May 31st. The powerful program will also feature four City of London Series Finals, The London Classic Yearling Sale Trot and the first leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
The always popular Party on the Patio, a special Top Of The Fair menu, live entertainment, giveaways and more will also be featured on Camluck Classic night. More details will be announced on the track’s social channels and at www.theracewaywfd.com.
Western Fair Association Acquires Dorchester Downs Training Centre
Western Fair Association (WFA) is also pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Dorchester Downs Training Centre located in Dorchester, Ontario, on the outskirts of London. The beautiful 49-acre property boasts a 5/8’s mile track, features two barns with 100 stalls and is the home of some of the region’s largest stables.
The Western Fair Association has enjoyed a longstanding commitment to harness racing in Ontario. The raceway site, formerly known as Salters Grove and later named Western Fair Raceway, was the first in Canada to conduct night time racing in 1961 and was the scene of harness racing legend John Campbell’s first driving win.
In 2022, the Western Fair Association took over ownership and operation of Canada’s largest standardbred yearling sale – the London Classic Yearling Sale – and the acquisition of Dorchester Downs further positions WFA as one of Canada’s leading racing organizations.
“When this opportunity came about we thought it made sense for the Association to explore,” said Western Fair Association CEO Reg Ash. “It is a fantastic property that is ideally located in a rapidly growing municipality and further supports live racing in this part of the province. This demonstrates our commitment to a vibrant racing industry in Southwestern Ontario.”
WFA will take over operation of the facility in early July.
