Another great horse racing season for the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association.
The 2025 race season came to a close on Sunday, Nov. 2 at Leamington Raceway.
The season kicked off on August 10 and was scheduled to include 13 race dates, but one race day was cancelled due to the rainy weather.
Association member Tom Bain says overall attendance and betting totals are still being calculated but says the stats are very similar to the 2024 race season.
In 2024, the bet total averaged out to be $60,000 a week over the race season.
Bain says the wiener dog races were a hit again this year.
"We draw over 2,000 people both last year and this year again, over 2,000 people," says Bain. "It's a real draw and a great family day."
He says the community supports local horse racing tremendously.
"You can see that when you compare our attendance, it is higher than at Western Fair in London," he says. "Our live attendance is higher than Toronto. So we have a local group that's very supportive, comes out and supports us, and it's greatly appreciated."
Bain says the association continues to push for more race dates.
"I think our success level speaks for itself both in betting and in attendance, and we continue to go after Toronto to try and pick up more days," says Bain. "So we'll be looking to do that again for next year."
In 2024, the association's average attendance was between 700 and 800 people.
Bain credits improvements to the track and grandstand for another successful season.