This Saturday, May 4, 10 races will mark the start of the 2024 season at Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia, Ontario, including live harness racing.
During the meet, which runs through September 21, racing will take place on Saturdays with post time at 6:30 p.m. Highlights of the season will include the Ontario Sires Stakes, which will be held at the five-eighths-mile oval and feature additional Grassroots and Prospect Series legs.
Garrett Rooney, the defending driving champion of Hiawatha, has a full schedule of drives on Saturday, which includes the $5,000 conditioned-claiming pace, the marquee race of the evening, where he is the 2-1 morning line favourite Legal Bettor and the inside draw for the Cassidy Schneider stable. Rooney led the Hiawatha driver rankings in the previous season with 44 victories, about twice as many as his closest competitor.
Leading trainer at the track in 2023 with 13 wins, Jason Libby, will field three starters to begin the new meet: Gourmet Cook, a maiden sophomore pacer who will be in the first race. Rose Ricky, a four-year-old pacer will be the fifth race, and Atalanta Express, a seven-year-old distaffer who is a recent $11,875 claim from Western Fair Raceway and has the best chance of winning based on the morning line, will be the first trotting dash of the evening. All three Libby trainees are mentioned as being driven by Dan Clements.
Every month on the first Saturday, Hiawatha will have its "loonie and toonie night" promotion, when hotdogs are $2 and programs and pop cost $1 apiece.