Leamington back with a bang they expect to reverberate throughout the season

by Matthew Lomon

A 30-minute delay was no match for the unbridled enthusiasm of the Leamington Raceway faithful, who turned out in droves on Sunday (Aug. 9), to celebrate the track’s 2026 season-opener.

“There was an offsite tote issue,” said Leamington track announcer Nathan Bain. “They were changing the takeout amount, and wouldn’t let us start until that was done, so we just had to wait.

“But the fans were excellent. The place was absolutely packed… I could hardly even hear myself because it was so loud. That was pretty amazing.”

Local legend and ageless wonder Donald Rankin, Jr., supplied an early jolt for fans and prudent horseplayers, piloting Mountain Dancer (8-1) to an upset victory in the first fixture of the year.

The 10-race program only took off from there, courtesy of Ys Delight, who made Leamington history in the seventh.

With Mark MacDonell in tow, the 9-year-old son of Bettors Delight—Kiss Baby Kiss crossed the wire in 1:55.3 to lower the track record for older pacing stallions by one-fifth of a second.

“He’s just an exceptional horse,” Bain said. “He’s been competitive all year in the preferred ranks at Western Fair, so it’s great for our product to have him here for opening day. It definitely spiced things up a little bit, having a new horse come in and set a record like that.”

The spectacular showing even caught Bain, who has called his fair share of record-breaking efforts since stepping into the booth in 2020, by surprise.

“I won’t lie, I didn’t even really catch it until I saw the article on Standardbred Canada,” he said with a laugh. “Normally, I’d be like, ‘Wow, that must be close,’ check it, and then announce it. But there was just so much going on I didn’t even catch it.”

An eventful afternoon on and off the track was punctuated by standout performances from conditioner Cameron McQueen, who submitted his early bid for a second straight Leamington training title with three winners, and driver Nick Steward, who delivered the trio of triumphs for McQueen, plus an additional score with Dapper Fella in the sixth, bringing his total on the day to four.

“Cameron’s been racing at Leamington for the last couple of years – he seems to have a nice thing going with the right horses in the right classes,” Bain said. “Last year, we saw a lot of Garrett Rooney driving his horses, but this year, Nick’s really taken off with his stable.”

When a driver is in a groove like Steward was, they command a heightened level of attention from everyone – Bain said.

“At a track like Leamington, where there’s just a handful of drivers, when one of them has a really hot day, it seems like it doesn’t matter what they’re driving,” Bain said. “That goes the same way for Garrett, too. He had one on opening day, but some days he’d win five or six – everything he touched seemed to take off.”

Steward’s sizzling start may be a sign that the race for the Leamington driving title could go down to the wire.

“Garrett really separated from the pack last year; it wasn’t really a race,” Bain said. “We’ll see if Nick makes it interesting, especially now that he’s picked up a lot of Cameron’s drives. If we can have a close race for the driving title, that would certainly add another level of interest.”

Highlighting the quality of Leamington’s racing product, particularly from the perspective of seasoned horseplayers, is something Bain hopes will lead to further intrigue as the season progresses.

“We had all our guest ‘cappers back, plus the addition of Melissa Keith doing selections this year. I think it’s good that we have some great experts pushing the product in Leamington because it’s taken a lot to get Leamington out there. We don’t always get the same coverage that some of the other tracks would, so we have to really work hard for that.

“But I’m confident having people like Melissa Keith and others doing picks will help get Leamington’s name out there more.”

As far as what’s on the docket across the remaining 11 race dates this season, there’s something for fans, horsepeople, and horseplayers, alike, to look forward to each week.

Coming up this Sunday (Aug. 16) is Derby Hat Day, followed by Sunday Funday (Aug. 23), and Driver Appreciation Day (Aug. 30), where fans can collect autographs and take photos with their favorite reinsmen.

Sept. 6 marks the return of Leamington’s annual Kids Day – an event near and dear to Bain.

“Kids Day at Leamington is when I called my first race,” he said. “If it wasn’t for that day, I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I’ve gotten.

“It’s just so important to have days like this, and to ensure that we have young fans in the industry and give them opportunities to see what the sport’s like. It’s something we definitely need to do more of, and I’m proud of what Kids Day has done.”

Kids Day also coincides with the return of Ontario Sires Stakes competition, namely a pair of Prospects Series divisions for 3-year-old pacers, one for colts and one for fillies.

“The Prospects always brings a lot of new horses, and now that the purses have been raised to $10,000, from about $7,000, a lot more people seem to travel for them with that extra couple grand available,” Bain said.

“It also brings in some new drivers. At Dresden, we had Jody Jamieson and Austin Sorrie come in. It just brings a lot more hype, and people that wouldn’t watch before will watch it now.”

Also returning to Leamington this season are the Harness the Hope breast cancer research, support, and awareness fundraiser (Sept. 27), Wiener Dog Races (Oct. 4), Thanksgiving at The Races (Oct. 11), Fan Appreciation and Veterans Day (Oct. 18), and Closing Day and Halloween at The Races (Oct. 25).

“You have to treat all your fans well and I think that’s why they come back every single year,” Bain said.

New Start Standardbreds will be on site throughout the season offering 50/50 tickets as part of its fundraising efforts for equine aftercare and rehoming.

“Equine aftercare is such an important cause, and it’s very important for New Start to be here raising money during the season,” Bain said. “We want to help standardbred horses get the happy retirements they deserve.”

As the racing tradition dating back to 1900 adds another year to its history, the focus in 2026 and beyond is making sure there are many more to come.

“It’s so important,” Bain said. “Everyone likes to support their local track and keep it going. There’s just so much history at these little tracks. For us to keep them going is very important to the roots of the community.”