A brand-new season of horseracing at Western Fair District has commenced, with exciting live races and hefty purses up for grabs.
After a long period of inactivity due to the lockdown restrictions, Western Fair District officially resumed activities on 7 October, with The Raceway seeing its first horses in months. The past six months have taken their toll on horseracing tracks across Ontario, with Western Fair District in London feeling the brunt of the pandemic.
The new 2020/2021 live horseracing season is planned to showcase premium live races, with the 7 October race reintroducing regular events each Monday and Friday. Regretfully, for the time being, London’s horserace fans will not have access to live harness events on Tuesdays, although these races have now been rescheduled to Wednesdays.
The new racing schedule will allow the racetrack staff more time to thoroughly clean and disinfect the paddocks after each event and before the next race takes place. The upcoming season is projected to cover weekly events up until 31 December.
Some further changes made by Western Fair District include the Friday events. Whereas the previous start of all live harness racing would commence at 18h55 on that day, the new post time has been brought back to 18h15. The new times are expected to better position The Raceway amongst other live horseracing providers in Canada.
New Live Racing Wagers
The new season of horseracing, which commenced on 9 October, saw the Ontario Sires Stakes, which is a warmup to the grand final event at Woodbine Mohawk Park on 17 October.
When it comes to placing live event bets, punters will experience the new Pick-5 wager. Pick-5 comes with a CA$2,000 guaranteed prize pool and a sizeable 15-per cent takeout. The racecourse expects that the new bet will attract additional live event bettors.
Additionally, the Top of the Fair racecourse restaurant will be open for the remainder of the horseracing season. Up to 150 patrons are allowed inside at a time, with all necessary social distancing protocols implemented on the premises.
