Nick Boyd and Bluemea Kiss are rising to the top at Mohawk

by Melissa Keith

Nick Boyd is familiar to anyone who follows Ontario racing, particularly racing at Kawartha Downs and other “B” tracks. But Thursday night (July 31), the horseman made an appearance on the Woodbine Mohawk Park simulcast show, picking winners instead of sitting behind them.

“Randy Waples mentioned coming on the set with him a bunch of times after he began in his role there,” Boyd told HRU on Friday (Aug. 1). “I told him I’d love the opportunity [to co-host the show] and earlier in the year he made it happen. It went very well from the feedback I received, so when Randy asked me about coming on again this past Thursday there was no hesitation to jump back into the booth from my end.”

Waples, officially retired from driving since 2022, made a rare appearance in the sulky at last year’s Legends Day at Clinton Raceway, winning his only drive, the Legends Day Trot, with Heavy Dude E. The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer was inducted in 2021, and now provides handicapping insights from behind the desk on the Mohawk simulcast show.

Boyd said Waples has welcomed him as a Mohawk co-host/guest handicapper on a couple of occasions this year.

“Randy has been very instrumental in encouraging me to give it a try, and I’m very thankful to him for providing me the opportunity on the platform,” Boyd said.

The horseman ended up selecting the most top-choice winners (six) on the 10-race Thursday card at Mohawk. His picks also provided a generous 26.45 per cent true return on investment, according to handicapping statistician Gabe DePaolo (@noahurstats).

“I certainly would never expect to pick the most winners when comparing myself to other handicappers,” said Boyd, looking back on his impressive showing. Somewhat surprisingly, he said that experience driving racehorses didn’t give him or Waples an edge over professional trip handicappers for Woodbine Mohawk Park.

“With the amount of work all serious players put into studying film, I think as drivers, Randy and myself are at a disadvantage, especially since we’d be more likely to allow our biases to play a role,” Boyd said.

The trainer/driver had first appeared on the Mohawk show earlier this year, enjoying success at first asking on May 26.

“[Thursday] was my second time doing it,” he said. “The first time we had a bit of a glitch, as I did all my picks including pick 5s, but they were left off the graphics. The early pick 5 ticket I provided cost $12 on a $1 ticket and returned just shy of $3,400.”

Boyd said he approached handicapping with return on investment as his main objective.

“At the end of the day, when I’m provided the opportunity to work in the role of a handicapper, I’m not focused on picking the most winners,” he said. “My focus is strictly on providing value with my selections. Over the long run, a player who provides value with their picks is always going to come out ahead of a player whose mantra is to ‘just pick winners’ regardless of their price.”

Driving since 2004 and training since 2002, Boyd was one win away from his 1,800th training victory as of Friday (Aug. 1) afternoon. With 7-year-old pacing mare Bluemea Kiss entered in the Mohawk filly and mare preferred that evening, there was a chance he could reach that milestone at Canada’s top track.

Bluemea Kiss (p, 6, 1:50.1s; $123,970) took her lifetime mark last season at Mohawk, upsetting at 5-1 with Jody Jamieson in the sulky on June 7, 2024. They had teamed up for the mare’s previous 7-1 win on May 31. The daughter of Heston Blue Chip—Bidforakiss recorded four 2024 wins at the Campbellville, ON track, the first at odds of 14-1 in a March 1 filly and mare conditioned race, with Boyd himself driving.

Bluemea Kiss’ second start in the Mohawk distaff preferred followed a short layoff.

“She actually returns after a three-week layoff due to sickness,” Boyd said, a few hours before the card started. “A tough task for any horse, she will have her work cut out for her.”

The mare had finished third for driver James MacDonald in the July 11, 2025 edition, her first-ever appearance in the Friday night feature. Overlooked at wild odds of 18-1, Bluemea Kiss was caught inside of Century Jamila at the top of the stretch, sitting last in the field of six. MacDonald gradually guided her to the outside path, and she flew home in 26 seconds flat, coming close to edging out Angostura Hanover for place. It was an eye-catching debut at the distaff preferred level for the late-blooming pacer.

Despite remaining active as a reinsman at Kawartha Downs, Georgian Downs, Grand River Raceway, and other Ontario tracks, Boyd said he was perfectly content to let MacDonald keep the catch drive on Bluemea Kiss.

“Anytime you can land ‘King James’ on your horse you should be pretty OK with taking a seat on the sidelines,” Boyd said.

Bluemea Kiss is owned by Brydown Farms Inc. of Clinton, ON, Kenneth Boyd of Newcastle, ON, and Tyler Durst, Breslau, ON.

“We acquired her as a yearling from the onGait online sale,” said her trainer. “Brydown Farms who are co-owners in Bluemea Kiss had a history with a few other siblings they also owned, which is why she had caught their eye.”

She quickly showed promise for her new owners.

“In her first qualifier as a 2-year-old, she paced her last three-quarters in 1:24.4. We knew there was talent there, just how much was unknown,” recalled Boyd. “Her maiden win at Tioga [in 1:51.4f on May 15, 2021 for Jody Jamieson] was impressive, but her first stakes win at Saratoga [in 1:54.3h for Matt Kakaley on June 2, 2021] was when I realized this was a mare who could be a very good racehorse.”

Her progress has slowed at times for unavoidable reasons.

“Lots of her career has been riddled with injuries and bad luck, an accident at Mohawk,” Boyd said.

He and Bluemea Kiss were thrown to the track in a nasty Nov. 5, 2021 collision at the Campbellville track, unable to avoid hitting Belina when that filly took a bad step for driver Sylvain Filion. Witnessintheshadow was euthanized after the four-horse accident, while driver Bob McClure ended up hospitalized with a broken arm. Boyd and Bluemea Kiss came out of the “no contest” race with only minor injuries, but needing time off. She returned to qualify on May 2, 2022.

On May 27, 2022, Bluemea Kiss repaid Boyd for his patience, earning him his first Mohawk driving victory since Feb. 7, 2019.

“I think everyone’s dreams include being a full-time driver at Mohawk, but at 41 those far-off dreams to begin with are likely further away at this point,” he told HRU. “I enjoy every opportunity I get to drive there, especially when you have a competitive horse. Those are the top guys in our country and some very, very good drivers. Many much better than myself are on the outside looking in.”

Looking back on his achievements in the sport, Boyd said he is grateful for the personal milestones, however large or small.

“For someone who only expected to be a hobbyist in this game, I could likely find a bunch of highlights that would be insignificant to many, but big time to me,” he said. “The one that sticks out the most when I think about this question is winning my first-ever drive at Delaware, [OH] on Little Brown Jug week. What a thrill, the greatest week of harness racing in North America, the crowd was fantastic, and [announcer] Roger Huston gave me an unforgettable call.”

Meanwhile, Bluemea Kiss continues improving with age like fine wine. Going into Friday night, she had already equaled both her lifetime mark and last year’s four seasonal victories.

“I think we have realistic plans for her,” her trainer said. “She’s 7 now. Her pacing sub-1:50 [July 4 and 11 at Mohawk] was not as shocking as her being competitive for a start in the [filly and mare] preferred. It would be nice to see her race competitively in the class. A win in there would be the feather in our cap, combined with a sub-1:50 win. If we thought bigger, [we would consider] maybe a start or two at Lexington in a late-closer against some lesser mares, or maybe even venture to The Meadowlands for a start or two.”

Bluemea Kiss ended up fifth in her second-ever distaff preferred, after sitting single-file fourth most of the mile for MacDonald on Friday night. Caught inside of Shes Got It All at the top of the stretch, she lacked racing room until it was too late to get within range of winning 1-2 favorite Caviar N Crackers. Bluemea Kiss finished 4½ lengths back in fifth, a respectable comeback.

Perhaps her next race will come closer to the unexpected success that Nick Boyd has enjoyed in recent handicapping at the big track.