The Lakeshore Horse Racing Association has announced the opening day of the 2024 harness racing season.
Post time is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Leamington Raceway.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, track announcer Nathan Bain says this year marks the 11th year of harness racing at Leamington Raceway.
He says the each year the races are getting more and more popular.
"The family atmosphere is really exciting and people are always cheering at the fence and you hear cheering, screaming and it makes it very exciting. Especially as a track announcer. You really feed off of that excitement and it makes my jobs a lot more fun. You get to see these amazing animals compete on the racetrack every week."
Bain says each week will have special themes.
"September, the first Sunday is Kids Day and then the Wiener Dog Races are the first Sunday in October. We try to do different activities every week, so it's not just racing. There's something for everyone to do at the track for all ages."
He says racing gets underway at 1 p.m. and goes until around 4 p.m.
"So it doesn't take your whole day up and what's good about Leamington is we kind of go into the fall so we don't really have too many hot days because when it's hot, it's not as fun but, no matter what the weather is we always seem to have a good time."
Leamington Raceway is located on the Leamington Fairgrounds at 194 Erie Street N E.
The season will run for 13 weeks every Sunday until Nov. 3.
More information can be found here: www.lakeshorehorseraceway.com.