The 43rd Annual Charity Driver's Challenge kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final leg of the eight-race contest during Clinton Raceway's action-packed season finale on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 3).
Heading into the final dash of the driver's challenge, Tyler Borth and Travis Henry were tied at 145 points each. Making it a true nail biter, the two drivers came in first and second, respectively. Henry sent his charge Rose Run Vortex first-over to engage pacesetter Meilleur Fromage in a head-to-head battle through the final half-mile of the race with the latter prevailing by a neck in 1:56.3 for Borth and pushing him into first-place with 195 points to claim his first Charity Driver's Challenge title.
Henry finished second with 170 total points and fellow Clinton driver Paul MacKenzie was right there in third with 126 points in the Charity Driver's Challenge, all benefitting the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 140. Through the generous donations of the day's drivers, the sponsorships and on-track fundraising, more than $12,000 was donated to the Clinton Branch.
The other driving participants included James MacDonald, Brett MacDonald, Garrett Rooney, J Harris and Colin Kelly.
Borth also claimed the top driver award at Clinton, with 44 wins on the season. There was a three-way tie for the meet's trainer title, shared by Pat Bissett, John Kennedy and Cameron McQueen, each with eight wins. It was a big weekend for Borth, who also surpassed the $10 million mark in career earnings on Friday, Sept. 1 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
A pair of $21,000+ divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series for three-year-old male trotters wrapped up the 2023, 15-week season at the Huron County oval. The divisional track record was broken by the Kyle Fellows-trained Dowedealinandwhy (Wheeling N Dealin-Gaelic Princess) and Travis Henry winning the ninth race in 1:57.3, but was quickly replaced in the 10th race finale by the Matt Bax-trained Deadline Hall (Muscle Mass-Daylon Mystique) and driver James MacDonald in 1:57.2.
The 10-race card produced a near-record handle, just topping the $125,000 mark.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Clinton Raceway.
(With files from Clinton Raceway; Top photo of trainer Harry Martin's Meilleur Fromage with Borth and Legion members in the winner's circle)