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2008 winners - Guelph trainer Gregg McNair, left and his son Doug, 17, were the winners in last year’s Battle Of Waterloo. Doug McNair went on to become the youngest $1-million winner in harness racing history that year.
The Wellington Advertiser, Friday, July 24, 2009 PAGE TWENTY FIVE
Star horse - Run The Table is the featured horse star at Industry Day this year. The Hall of Fame horse celebrates his 25th birthday this year. Here he is with the Hula Girls.
Horse racing celebration day is at Grand River Raceway Aug. 3 ELORA — Grand River Raceway’s 12th edition of its signature race, the $300,000 Battle of Waterloo, will be contested on Aug. 3 as part of the racetrack’s Industry Day event. Industry Day, now in its 19th year, began at Elmira Raceway as a celebration of the harness racing industry. The event is at 7445 County Road 21, just west of Elora and runs Civic Holiday Monday, Aug. 3. Races begin at 2pm. Admission and parking are always free This year Industry Day features 11 races worth $550,000, including two major races; children’s activities,
photos with celebrity horse Run The Table, prize draws and more. Added to this year’s mix is the inaugural running of the Battle Of Waterloo’s companion race — for the girls — the Battle Of The Belles. That $150,000 race will be contested by the province’s top rookie pacing fillies. Last year’s victor in the Battle Of Waterloo was bred, owned, trained, and driven by the McNair family of Guelph. Trail Boss gave Gregg McNair his first Battle Of Waterloo win, and launched the driving career of his then-17-year-old son, Doug. The feat earned the local teen the distinction of being the youngest driver in the histo-
ry of the sport to win a race of such wealth. By year’s end, the young reinsman also became the youngest driver to ever drive horses to earnings of $1-million in a single season. Starters for both big races will be determined in elimination races on July 27. All of the McNairs will be champing at the bit to defend their 2008 Battle Of Waterloo title with a new stable star. In all, the Industry Day afternoon offers top-notch racing worth $550,000 in purses. Other Industry Day activities include pony rides, face painting and more for the children, plus a photo
session with celebrity horse Run The Table. This year marks Run The Table’s 25th birthday, and Grand River Raceway will be hosting a special birthday party for him on Industry Day, complete with a giant birthday cake. The handsome steed was a champion racehorse, and in his post-race career, became one of the most prolific stallions in the history of the sport, fathering more than 1,400 foals who have earned more than $92-million on the track. He had a profound impact on the breeding and racing of Standardbreds in Ontario — an effect that continues to be felt through his sons and daugh-
ters and later generations. Now retired from stud duty, he will live out the rest of his days at Killean Acres in Ingersoll, where he is cared for by his owners, brothers Don and Jack McNiven. Run The Table was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame in 2006. At the posh, black-tie ceremony in Mississauga, the McNiven brothers actually led Run The Table into the ceremony to accept his Hall Of Fame ring. Jack McNiven was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2007. For more information, visit www.GrandRiverRaceway.com or call 519-846-5455.