On Tuesday, April 23, Tyler Borth won the Ontario Regional Driving Championship at The Raceway at the Western Fair District, making him the top harness racing reinsman in the province.
With 71 points, the driver defeated three-time Driver of the Year James MacDonald by a margin of twelve. The province's delegates at the National Driving Championship (NDC) in July, which will decide Canada's representative at the upcoming World Driving Championship, are Borth and MacDonald.
Borth defeated eight of Ontario's top drivers, leading the race from the second leg to the finish. In leg three against Devils Peak (Camluck), he secured his first victory of the evening, maintaining the lead throughout despite constant pressure and scoring in 1:59.1.
With Devils Peak fending off MacDonald's heavily favoured Favaro Seeslter for a 10-point swing, the victory proved to have a significant impact.
His other triumph came two races later, in 1:59.2, when I Am What I Am (Angus Hall) won by five and a quarter lengths after exploding off a pocket trip. Additionally, he placed second three times.
With 117 victories this season, Borth is ranked second among drivers in the country. With a total of 414, the pilot almost missed the mark the previous year while earning over $4.3 million. In his thirteen years as a driver, Borth has crossed the $13 million earnings threshold and has won 1,851 of his 13,153 races.
MacDonald, with 59 points, came in second. His best finishes came in second place behind Favaro Seelster and Monteverdi and victories with Marilyn (Custard The Dragon, 1:58.4) and Rye N Clyne (Vintage Master, 1:58.4). Entering the last leg, the 2017 World Driving Champion needed to make up seven points, but Borth's placing cemented the victory.
Based on their finishing position, drivers in the nine-race competition were awarded points on a 15-10-7-5-4-3-2-1 scale. Each driver had to sit out one leg.