Drivers draft horses for ORDC

In order to solidify the card for the Ontario Regional Driving Championship (ORDC), Standardbred Canada held a conference call with the nine ORDC participants on Friday, April 19 to finalize the horses they will drive this Tuesday, April 23 at The Raceway at Western Fair District.

This marks the first time in history that a draft call has been coordinated for the ORDC. This format, adopted from the National Driving Championship, allowed drivers to take part in selecting the horses they would drive in each race. The nine drivers will participate in nine competition races. Each race will have a field of eight and each driver will compete in eight races, drive from every post position, and sit out for one race.

The ORDC drivers selected the horses they preferred in a fantasy-draft-style format, with each driver having the opportunity to select first overall in one of the nine ORDC races. First, there was a draw to determine the order of the draft (first through eighth) for the first NDC race and then a random number generator was used to determine the draw for the next eight ORDC races so that each driver had the opportunity to draw a first through eighth pick. Post positions were drawn following the draft ensuring that each driver starts from post one through eight in the competition.

The first race post time for the ORDC card of harness racing is 5:50 p.m. (EST), with the first ORDC race taking place in Race 3. The ORDC races will take place in Races 3 through 11.

From Standardbred Canada