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London, December 10, 2024 — The fifth edition of The Raceway’s Drivers Holiday Challenge on Tuesday night came right down to the wire and when the dust settled it was local harness racing reinsman Lorne House taking home the title with a one-point victory over 2024 Ontario Regional driving champion Tyler Borth.
It was Borth who jumped out to an early lead in the competition, winning three of the first four races on the program including Rising Dragon (race 1), Candescent Hanover (race 2) and Blackcreek Rosebud (race 4).
House, who was competing in his first career driving challenge, clicked in race 5 with the red hot Sheplaysforkeeps who won her second in a row at the London oval. It was the first of four consecutive wins on the program for the 43-year-old reinsman who clicked with Pajamas Optional (race 6), The Great Reset (race 7) and Greystone Ian O (race 8).
SHEPLAYSFORKEEPS/LORNE HOUSE REPLAY
After wrestling the lead from Borth, House was able to maintain top spot heading into the final race of the competition where had a two-point margin going into race 12. While Borth and House would finish 7th and 8th respectively in the last race, the single point was enough to give House is first title with 92 points accumulated overall. Bob McClure finished third in the competition with 74 points.
The annual driving challenge has become a staple on The Raceway’s holiday calendar and was broadcast on COSA TV along with Rogers Community Cable TV for the first time. Donations of cash and toys from the racing community were gathered in recent weeks. A cheque for $6,500 was presented representing the cash donations while the total, including toy donations, was in excess of $10,000.
The Raceway continues it’s current live racing schedule during the holidays, every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 5:50 p.m. There will also be a special afternoon card on December 26 (Boxing Day) at 12:55 p.m. and December 31 (New Year’s Eve) at 6:30 p.m.
For full details, visit www.theracewaywfd.com.
For complete race results, click here.
by Greg Blanchard, for The Raceway at the Western Fair District
