Mohawk regular Tyler Borth repeats as Ontario Regional Driving Champion at London
by Melissa Keith
On Tuesday (May 5), a familiar face returned to The Raceway at Western Fair in winning style. Tyler Borth brought home his second consecutive Ontario Regional Driving Championship (ORDC) title at the track where he first gained attention. The Ingersoll, ON-based reinsman has alternated between the London, ON half-mile and Woodbine Mohawk Park since testing the waters at the big track in 2023. He continues to catch drive at other Ontario tracks, particularly as the stakes season gains momentum.
Now 33 years old, Borth is sixth in Canada by purses won this year ($991,981 Can.) and ninth by 2026 driving wins (70 wins from 572 starts, as of May 7). While facing the country’s top driving colony on a regular basis at Mohawk, he has established himself as the youngest member of the current top 10. Borth is ninth by 2026 Mohawk victories to date (35 wins), just ahead of 49-year-old Jody Jamieson (29 wins) and one win behind 54-year-old Trevor Henry (36 wins), who has announced that he is scaling back his drives this season.
Returning to The Raceway, Borth steered trotters Teasin (race 2) and Royalty Girl (race 4) and pacer Writeline (race 8) to May 5 victories, securing his ORDC crown for the second time with 62 total points in the tournament. Two-time (2001 and 2011) World Driving Champion Jody Jamieson finished second, with two winning drives and 55 points. Both will take part in the 2026 National Driving Championship on Sunday (July 26) at Clinton Raceway. Reigning NDC and WDC champ James MacDonald is automatically invited to the 2027 World Driving Championships, which will be held in Canada. He did not drive in the latest ORDC tournament.
Before the final ORDC results were even posted Tuesday night, Jamieson walked up to Borth to congratulate him. The tournament runner-up told interviewer Greg Blanchard, The Raceway’s director of equine programming, that “there’s not much sense in doing the math” to calculate points ahead of the card’s last couple of races. Jamieson drew ahead of third-place finisher Bob McClure (52 points) when he won race 11 with 8-1 longshot Summer Dancer, overcoming a dry spell earlier on the card.
“You know, I had a couple of lasts in the middle of the tournament, and usually… if you finish last in any race, it will just screw you on points towards the end,” Jamieson said. “But I knew I had 40 [points]. I knew I had to beat Bob [McClure], at least… I knew I needed to have a little space between Bob and I.”
He called the chance to race in the 2026 NDC “awesome,” adding that he “couldn’t be happier” with his late rally for second-place in the ORDC.
“At the end of the day, I’m just trying to win every race I can,” Jamieson said. “Sometimes you just can’t, you don’t have the horsepower, and tonight was just different.”
For Borth, winning his second ORDC title allows him the chance to avenge his runner-up finish behind James MacDonald in the July 5, 2024 NDC tournament at Quebec’s Hippodrome 3R.
“I was off to a great start in Three Rivers, actually, and then in the last couple of races, I don’t think I had a very good horse and James [MacDonald] picked me off,” Borth told Blanchard. “But he’s such a great driver, so to finish second to him, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Borth was second to MacDonald in that event, with 53 points to his rival’s 66 points.
Even in the absence of MacDonald, competing against Jamieson ensured the ORDC was no cakewalk, even on home turf.
“I always looked up to Jody when I was starting driving here and even before I started driving,” Borth said. “Him and Mark MacDonald ran this place [The Raceway at Western Fair].”
Borth rose to national prominence as the O’Brien Future Star Award winner in 2014, and spoke of the significance of taking another shot at his first NDC title.
“It was a fabulous day and I love being a part of this thing, especially at this racetrack,” Borth told Blanchard in the London winner’s circle. “I love this racetrack, you know that. I couldn’t be happier.”
As for the upcoming NDC, the ORDC winner said his experience driving at Clinton would help his chances.
“I know that track well and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
Fittingly, Borth won his next drive at Woodbine Mohawk Park, on Friday (May 8). He piloted Blake McIntosh-trained 3-year-old pacing filly Beentheredunethat in the morning’s first qualifier, winning going away on the front end in 1:57 flat. With three consecutive years of earning over $4-million (Can.) on his resume, it’s safe to say this Future Star has arrived.
