Driver of the Year James MacDonald said being grounded a few extra days in his home province of Prince Edward Island wasn’t all that bad.

by Melissa Keith

The O’Brien Awards took place Saturday night (Feb. 3) in Charlottetown, PEI, honoring Canada’s top harness racing performers of 2023. Both Keith Waples Driver of the Year finalists are regulars at Woodbine Mohawk Park: Louis-Philippe Roy (2018 and 2019 Driver of the Year) and James MacDonald, who would go on to win his third consecutive title.

People who traveled to Charlottetown for the O’Brien Awards banquet soon became aware that their return trips might be complicated by winter weather.

“We kind of knew pretty early,” said MacDonald, speaking Wednesday (Feb. 7), after his return to Guelph, ON. “It was so nasty Saturday [Feb. 3], and into Sunday. I think everyone was kind of talking: ‘Well, this is probably not going to be a go for the flights tonight.’ We were [booked] on the Sunday night flight; the Sunday morning flight got canceled first, and then the Sunday night one, and then they were rescheduling people. They put us on the Tuesday morning [Feb. 6] flight. We were thinking about trying to get switched to the Monday night flight, but it was looking like the weather was going to be bad Monday night as well, so we left it and we got really lucky. The Monday night flight ended up getting canceled; a lot of people got bumped to Thursday and Friday.”

MacDonald and Roy were listed to drive horses Monday night (Feb. 5) at Mohawk, but the O’Brien finalists, as well as fellow WMP reinsman Jody Jamieson, were among the horsepeople unable to find their way back to Ontario in the storm. This led to numerous late driver changes on the card. Roy and MacDonald had been listed to drive horses in each of the 10 races; Jamieson had drives in five. In their absence, Chris Christoforou, Guy Gagnon, Tyler Jones, Jonathan Drury, Phil Hudon, Doug McNair, Austin Sorrie, Scott Young, Aaron Byron, Ed Hensley, Sylvain Filion, and Travis Cullen all picked up one or more catch drives.

Caliber of races aside, Monday night at Mohawk seemed evocative of the 2011 Breeders Crown at Woodbine Racetrack, when an October snowstorm prevented drivers Tim Tetrick, George Brennan, David Miller, Yannick Gingras, Jimmy Takter, and Trond Smedshammer from making it to Ontario from New Jersey.

“We missed the Monday races, but at the end of the day, I got a couple of extra days with my son and my family,” said MacDonald. “There was a lot of us at the hotel, so the kids got to go swimming together. There was enough to keep us busy. There wasn’t a lot open, but luckily our hotel [Delta Charlottetown] was set up nicely, so everyone could hang out. We played cards, and there’s a restaurant there, and a bar.”

Rivalry on the track did not prevent the two O’Brien Driver of the Year finalists from spending time together during the historic PEI snowstorm.

“Louis was just a floor down from us, in the same hotel, so we spent most of the time with Louis and his girlfriend Courtney, and my brother Curtis [of Cujo Entertainment, a 2023 O’Brien Media Excellence finalist for Outstanding Video, Film, or Broadcast],” said James. “Jody [Jamieson] was in the Holman Grand [hotel], but then he slipped over to my uncle ‘Rabbit’s’ place and they had a nice dinner the one night. We kept in touch. Jody came over to our hotel one night… There was lots to do. We kept ourselves busy and entertained.”

The storm did not diminish the euphoria of James’ victory. He said that despite his best-ever season by earnings ($7,785,404 U.S.), and leading all Canadian drivers by wins last year (430, tenth-best in North America), he didn’t feel completely confident that he would repeat as Driver of the Year.

“But I was optimistic,” James said. “I knew I had another solid year, but Louis [Roy] did as well. Louis won a lot of Grand Circuit races, and those big ones really add up. So, I was hoping to hear my name called.”

The pressure was on, because a large contingent of MacDonald family members attended the awards banquet.

“I had a lot of my uncles and my mom and dad [Fred] there,” James said. “My mom [Red Shores Charlottetown track photographer Gail MacDonald] was taking the pictures. It was a packed house for sure. I had my uncle Sandy, and my brother Bobby and his wife Patrice, and just a big crowd of us.”

The thrill of winning his third straight O’Brien Award as Keith Waples Driver of the Year was the best ever, said James.

“There’s not much better feeling in the world than that…” James said. “It adds to it for sure. Anytime you can be recognized as the top driver in your jurisdiction, or in Canada, it’s special. A lot of hard work goes into it, you know: long nights, bad nights, good nights, and just trying to stay healthy. A lot goes into it, so for it to culminate at the end of the year into an award is really special.”

The PEI native said that the moment of the announcement, in his home province, was an unforgettable highlight in his 16-year driving career.

“Having all my family there, and just seeing how excited they were when they heard my name called,” he said. “You know, some of them aren’t necessarily that into the harness racing aspect of horses, so it was cool for them to kind of get a night out and see all my friends and family there, how excited they were. That was the best part… It’s always fun when you get a crew of MacDonalds out together… It’s just a lot of fun for a big group of people to get together and all be cheering for the same goal.”

Missing out on his first scheduled drives after the O’Briens didn’t faze James, who quipped that Monday at WMP “didn’t look like a fun night to be that paddock judge or someone trying to organize all the drives.” Finding catch drivers was doubly complicated by the absence of Bob McClure, currently sidelined with a broken leg.

Canada’s 2023 Driver of the Year is already leading the 2024 Woodbine Mohawk Park standings, with 38 wins from 159 drives, an early advantage over second-place Doug McNair, who has 26 wins from 147 drives (as of Feb. 7).

“It’s been a great start, and I’m just hoping for the same thing as every year,” James said. “I can stay consistent and show up every night with a good attitude, and staying healthy is priority number one.”