Sportsline takes final Preferred of the year

Sportsline (Sportswriter) won Canada’s final harness racing Preferred of 2024 at The Raceway at the Western Fair District on New Year’s Eve.

The veteran stallion wired the field for Natasha Day, cutting splits of :28.2, :58, and 1:26.3. Drinkin Buddy (Samuel Fillion) was the only horse able to mount a final-quarter challenge, chipping away at the leader down the lane, but Sportsline held him at bay to prevail in 1:56. Drinkin Buddy came up three-quarters-of-a-length short. It Takes Two (Lorne House) completed the ticket.

SPORTSLINE REPLAY

Sportsline stepped up to the Preferred on Tuesday after a pair of narrow place finishes in the upper-level conditioned ranks. Patrick Bissett trains the stallion for Craig Parrott of Windsor. The nine-year-old has won 34 times in 105 career starts and has raked in $312,546 in earnings.

Garrett Rooney was London’s leading driver of 2024 with 156 victories. Place finisher Travis Henry’s late charge came up eight wins short. Cassidy Schneider, with two wins on the card, upped her seasonal total at the track to 49 for her third straight training title. Cameron McQueen finished second with 40.

The Raceway at the Western Fair District will roll right into the new year with a card on Wednesday, Jan. 1, beginning at 5:50 p.m. EST.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink