It was an exciting day for drivers Kelly Hoerdt and Jamie Gray on June 23 as they qualified for the National Driving Championships in Standardbred horse racing. Hoerdt who finished first overall in the Western Regional Driving Championship along with Gray, who finished second overall, will head to Grand River Raceway in Elora, Ont., on September 26 to compete in the National Driving Championship.
Prior to the Western Regional Driving Championships, Hoerdt wasn’t confident with his multiple seven and eight post positions drawn for him; however, as a true testament to this competition, it’s about the driver’s abilities with the horses he is given and Hoerdt definitely held himself up to that expectation.
“Anyone of my [competitors] could have done the same if they were given those horses. They were right and I had all top trainers, which certainly helped,” said Hoerdt.
At the beginning of the competition, two British Columbian competitors took a strong lead and didn’t give the Albertans much hope, but as Hoerdt said, “you can’t give up in this kind of race because you never know what’s going to happen.”
“We just gave the B.C. guys false hope early on in the competition,” Gray jokingly commented, “but in all seriousness, I enjoyed the day. Even with all the rain that morning, it still turned out to be a great afternoon.”
Hoerdt agreed, “It was an absolute pleasure to drive against these guys. They are all great drivers and I think that we all had a lot of fun out there.”
Century Downs wishes Hoerdt and Gray the best of luck as they go off to compete at Grand River Raceway in a few months!
COMING UP AT CENTURY DOWNS
Celebrate Canada Day with the whole family! Enjoy free pony rides, face painters, glitter tattoos and balloon twisters from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.! Watch and wager live horse racing with a post time of 1:15 p.m. After the races, sit back, relax and enjoy free live music from JJ Shiplett presented by Country 105! You can also enjoy a cold drink in the Event Tent, then cap the night off with an incredible firework display at 10:45 p.m.!
The MILLION DOLLAR EVENT is back - Join Alberta's biggest slot tournament for your chance to win A MILLION DOLLARS in AGLC's TournEvent of Champions! Tournament dates are every Monday from June 18 to July 23. Win your way through one of the three qualifying tournaments per day at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. To participate in the qualifying tournaments, simply register at Customer Service one hour before the tournament timeslot of your choice on your chosen qualifying tournament day. Participants may register once per day only. All participants must be 18 years or older with valid Government ID.
See you at Century Downs!