Western Fair: Lorne House takes Drivers Holiday Challenge in thrilling fashion

The fifth edition of The Raceway's Drivers Holiday Challenge on Tuesday night came right down to the wire and, when the dust settled, it was locally-based Lorne House who took home the title with a one-point victory over 2024 Ontario Regional driving champion Tyler Borth.

It was Borth who jumped out to an early lead in the competition by winning three of the first four races on the program. He prevailed with Rising Dragon (race one), Candescent Hanover (race two) and Blackcreek Rosebud (race four).

House, who was competing in his first career driving challenge, clicked in race five with the red hot Sheplaysforkeeps, who won her second in-a-row at the London oval. It was the first of four consecutive wins on the program for the 43-year-old driver as he also clicked with Pajamas Optional (race six), The Great Reset (race seven) and Greystone Ian O (race eight).

After wrestling the lead from Borth, House was able to maintain top spot heading into the final race of the competition as he had a two-point margin going into race 12. While Borth and House would finish seventh and eighth, respectively, in the last race, the single point was enough to give House is first title with 92 points accumulated overall. Bob McClure finished third in the competition with 74 points.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

The annual driving challenge has become a staple on The Raceway's holiday calendar and was broadcast on COSA TV, along with Rogers Community Cable TV for the first time. Donations of cash and toys from the racing community were gathered in recent weeks. A check for $6,500 was presented, representing the cash donations, while the total, including toy donations, was in excess of $10,000.

The Raceway continues its current schedule during the holidays, with live racing every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 5:50 p.m. There will also be a special afternoon card on December 26 (Boxing Day) at 12:55 p.m. and December 31 (New Year's Eve) at 6:30 p.m.

For full details, visit www.theracewaywfd.com.

--press release (Western Fair)--