The Raceway announces 2023 award winners

London, ON – January 4, 2023 — The top harness racing performers from the 2023 season at The Raceway at Western Fair District have been announced and will all be honoured during the annual Awards Night which takes place this year on Saturday, March 2^nd.

Trotting mare Okeeheelee (Il Sogno Dream – Phoenix Goal) was the only multiple award winner from 2023, taking home both the Aged Trotting Mare and Claiming Trotter Of The Year Awards. She won 7 times at the London oval during the season while banking just shy of $42,000 for owner-trainer Jack Wray of London.

The father-daughter duo of Colonel and Cassidy Schneider teamed up for another stellar season in London and will take home the Owner Of The Year and Trainer Of The Year hardware respectively. Schneider-owned starters clicked for 33 wins during the Meet while amassing just over $194,000 in earnings. Cassidy Schneider led all trainers with 53 wins and just over $322,000 in purse winnings to capture her second consecutive trainer’s title.

Despite giving up his full-time driving status at The Raceway part way through the season, Tyler Borth captured another London driving title by virtue of his 192 trips to the winner’s circle and $1.183 million in earnings while sporting a sparkling .401 U.D.R.S. Borth finished second in the nation for wins behind reining O’Brien Award winner James MacDonald.

The annual Awards Night celebration will once again take place at the Top Of The Fair restaurant. Tickets will go on sale soon and horse people can stay tuned to the track’s website and social media channels for full details as they are announced.

Nominations are now being accepted for Caretaker of the Year. To nominate someone for the award, you are asked to email your submission and reasons why to gblanchard@westernfairdistrict.com , sdoyle@westernfairdistrict.com or aotoole@westernfairdistrict.com. Text messages or online messages will not be accepted.

To be eligible, a person must race primarily at The Raceway and have worked in a caretaker capacity for a minimum of three years. A voting committee will select the winner, based on nominations, which will be announced the night of the award ceremony along with other selected categories including overall Horse of the Year.

The horse awards are based on the highest earnings with a minimum of 6 starts at The Raceway during the calendar year while the claiming awards are based on the number of claiming wins at The Raceway during the same period. The complete list of this year’s winner’s, including categories that will be announced the night of the event, are listed below:

THE RACEWAY 2023 AWARD WINNERS

3YF Trotter – April Duford

3YF Pacer – Yoda Queen

3YC Trotter – Acefortyfour Elvis

3YC Pacer – Punchesinbunches

Aged Trotting Mare – Okeeheelee

Aged Pacing Mare – So Frisky

Aged Trotting Horse – Bucktober

Aged Pacing Horse – Cheddar Bay

Claiming Pacer – Big Bad Jenn

Claiming Trotter – Okeeheelee

Rookie Of The Year – Just Ask Joe

Trainer Of The Year – Cassidy Schneider

Driver Of The Year – Tyler Borth

Owner Of The Year – Colonel Schneider Jr.

Caretaker Of The Year – TBA

Horsewoman Of The Year – TBA

Overall Horse Of The Year – TBA

by Greg Blanchard, for The Raceway