ELORA, AUGUST 4, 2023 – Grand River Raceway is hosting the 34th edition of Industry Day on August 7, with the Battle of Waterloo headlining the $616,100 card and Tyler Borth – Canada’s leading driver by wins in 2023 – is making his debut in the $205,200 dash for two-year-old Ontario Sired male pacers.
Borth had a career year in 2022 and is on pace to have an even better one in 2023. He has 263 wins from 1385 starts this season and has hit the board 48 percent of the time overall.
The Ingersoll, Ont., reinsman was the leading driver at The Raceway at the Western Fair District in 2023 with over $1 million in earnings. He has continued to make his presence felt across Ontario since the London oval’s meet ended in May.
“When I started out driving, I never expected to make it as far as I’ve made it,” said Borth. “Now that I’m getting drives at Mohawk on a regular basis, it means a lot to me. I’m just kind of surprising myself really.”
Borth has been driving for twelve years, and slowly building towards the success that he has begun to achieve in the last two seasons.
“I find it takes a while to really be at your best,” said Borth. “I have a lot of experience and have driven a lot of races.”
Borth is driving Crush Kill Destroy in the Battle of Waterloo, after piloting the son of Betterthancheddar to a third place finish in their elimination on July 31.
In the elimination, Crush Kill Destroy had a rocky start, before steadying the ship and showing he can contend with the best freshman in Ontario.
“It was just a young two-year-old trying to push their speed, he got a little mixed up,” said Borth. “Maybe I just asked him a bit little too much. He still came back on, finished third, and he raced great, I think if that didn’t happen, I think he could’ve won his elimination.”
Major stakes such as the Battle of Waterloo attract Ontario’s top drivers, and Borth will face fierce competition as he looks to add a signature win to his burgeoning resume.
“Obviously those guys are the best in the world for a reason,” said Borth. “I have driven a lot with them, and you can’t make too many mistakes driving because they don’t make too many themselves.”
On Monday, in race 11 Borth and Crush Kill Destroy will line up from post eight in Grand River’s signature race.
It’s a challenging draw for the upset minded duo who are 8-1 on the morning line, but as the saying goes, you can’t win it if you’re not in it, and Borth is excited about the opportunity to compete on one of Ontario’s biggest stages.
“I appreciate that Per Engblom is giving me a shot and it’s nice to drive for a trainer of his caliber,” said Borth. “I’ve watched the Battle of Waterloo countless times and I never thought I’d be in it. It’s crazy to me.”
In addition to the Battle of Waterloo, the $138,400 Battle of the Belles for two-year-old Ontario Sired fillies is race 10.
There are also two Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold divisions for three-year-old pacing fillies on the card in races 4 and 7 with both are going for over $100,000.
Click here to view a full list of entries for Grand River Raceway, Monday August 7, 2023.
Borth (right) poses with Travis Henry a the 2023 The Raceway at the Western Fair District Awards where they shared Driver of the Year honours. (Claus Anderson)
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