Brand-new feel for Industry Day at Grand River

Elora, ON — Industry Day at Grand River Raceway will have a brand-new feel on Monday (Aug. 5). Since the former harness racing half-mile oval was expanded to a five-eighths-mile track for this meet, many of its track records have been rewritten. Fittingly, this year’s Battle of Waterloo, sponsored by Winbak Farm, will see the newly-minted record holders for 2-year-old colts and geldings face off.

The Battle of Waterloo was established in 1998 at Elmira Raceway. It was relocated to Grand River Raceway in 2004, where it continues to be operated by the Grand River Agricultural Society. Open to Ontario-sired 2-year-old pacers, the Battle of Waterloo final and its companion race for 2-year-old filly pacers, the Battle of the Belles, are annual highlights of the Industry Day card at Grand River.

Two eliminations for the 2024 Battle of Waterloo took place Monday night (July 29).

In the first (race six), the grey Sterling Choice and driver James MacDonald grabbed the early lead. They were confronted by first-over challenger Set Shot (driven by Sylvian Filion) nearing the :26.3 opening quarter. Stonebridge Wizard (Dancin Lou) and Doug McNair left the pocket to overtake Set Shot soon after that colt made the front. Under pressure from first-over Sunsational past the :55.4 half, Stonebridge Wizard battled back, leading to three-quarters in 1:24.3 and holding off a late move from Out of Ice (Jody Jamieson) for the 1:52.4 victory, the quickest by a 2-year-old gelding on a Canadian five-eighths mile track this year.

It was the third win in four career starts for Stonebridge Wizard, a colt from the first crop of Dancin Lou out of the mare Odds On Magic. Bred by Angie Stiller of London, Ont., and sold for C$32,000 at the 2023 London Classic Sale, Stonebridge Wizard is owned by David Kryway and trained by Jared Bako. The winning 3-5 favourite drew post five in the C$245,400 Battle of Waterloo final.

The second elimination (race eight) saw Tito N Cheddar take early command for driver Louis-Philippe Roy, as 70-1 Wicked Weston and Jason Ryan pursued them first-over, leaving aggressively from the outside post. The long shot cleared to the lead at the 27.1 quarter, and then faced a first-over challenge from Fifth And Five (Bettor’s Delight) and driver Jody Jamieson, who quickly took charge.

Tito N Cheddar came after Fifth and Five before the second turn, pressing the pace to the :55.2 half. The colts waged war along the backstretch before Jamieson’s horse pulled ahead at the 1:23.4 three-quarters. Fifth and Five opened up late in a 1:51.4 track record mile, also the fastest of the year in Canada by any 2-year-old pacer on a five-eighths-mile track. Allstar Maniac (James MacDonald) closed late for place.

Fifth And Five drew post two in Monday’s Battle of Waterloo final. He was bred by Darryl Kaplan with Roy Sproxton and Harbhajan Singh Dhillon. The colt is the first foal of dam Filou Fly Fast, and sold for $32,000 at the 2023 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. He is now owned by trainer Carl Jamieson with 1140545 Ontario Ltd. and Trevor Edwards.

Carl Jamieson also captured the inaugural Battle of Waterloo in 1998, training and driving Distinctiv Skeeter to a 1:59.1 victory after a narrow elimination loss. Carl also trained and drove 2000 “Battle” champion C T Rocket before teaming up with son Jody for victories in the 2002 (Village Blitz), 2004 (Banner Yankee), 2006 (Warrawee Ideal) and 2019 (Sports Obsession) editions.

The 11-race card will include two Pick-5s. The early Pick-5, beginning in race one, features a guaranteed pool of C$10,000. The “Super-Charged” late Pick-5 (races 7-11) also offers a guaranteed pool of C$10,000, for a sequence that includes two Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Legs for 3-year-old male pacers (races seven and eight), the “Button Up” Preferred 2 (race nine), the C$175,200 Battle of the Belles final (race 10), and the Battle of Waterloo final (race 11).

There will also be two Pick-4s offered. The early Pick-4 (races 2-5) has a guaranteed pool of $5,000, and the late Pick-4 (races 8-11) has a guaranteed pool of $7,500. The Battle of Waterloo will also offer a Super Hi-5 wager with a guaranteed pool of C$7,500. All wagers listed above will offer a low 15-percent takeout.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Industry Day, which features 11 live races alongside family-friendly entertainment at the track. The NEIGHbourhood Kids Area provides face painting, inflatable axe-throwing, and other fun activities, while food trucks from Berlin 95, MegaCone Creamery, and others will offer a range of options at the East Gate.

Post time for the afternoon card is 12:30 p.m. (Eastern). Additional information, plus a webpage to purchase tickets for VIP Captain’s Quarters seating, can be found here.

by Melissa Keith, for Grand River Raceway