September 28, 2024
By Ontario Sires Stakes Communications
One of the tightest battles across any of the Ontario Sires Stakes 2024 leaderboards will be decided Saturday during the $75,000 Grassroots Final for three-year-old colt pacers.
Only two points separate Lakers Bank (All Bets Off) and Sports Activator (Sportswriter) for the top spot on their Grassroots leaderboard, setting up what should be a thrilling conclusion to a dogfight of a season between the two.
Lakers Bank, who was bred by Lara Lake-Nontell (Elgin, Ont.) and is owned by Val Spar Stables (West Hill, Ont.), leads the Grassroots sophomore pacing colts with 160 points, earning $58,000 this season across 15 starts and $32,000 in Grassroots events thanks to three wins across five OSS starts.
The success the brown gelding has enjoyed this season has come as a bit of a surprise. Lakers Bank didn’t race as a two-year-old and his trainer, Tim Myers, didn’t see the performer he has become when they were first training down.
“He did everything right, like he trained down really good and every time you’d ask him to step up, he did and there weren’t complaints with him, but I didn’t think he had that [to him],” said Myers. “We started him out at Flamboro and then from there he just kept getting better every start.”
Lakers Bank has proven to be a handy horse, capable of racing in a myriad of ways, to his benefit.
“He just seems to get stuff done,” said Myers.
Right on Lakers Bank’s tail on the leaderboard with 158 points is Sports Activator who has earned a larger season’s total with $59,722 but is just $400 shy in Grassroots earnings with $31,200 on the strength of two scores and two third-place finishes in five Grassroots starts this season.
Owned by Lee Cullen of Ottawa and Lloyd Howley of Kars, Ont., who also bred him, Sports Activator has been every bit as impressive as Lakers Bank, although doing so with a lot more experience under his belt, gained by racing as a two-year-old in the Grassroots.
“He’s real good to drive. You can do anything with him,” said Michael Armstrong, Sports Activator’s trainer and occasional driver. “He can lead, he can come from behind, he’s smart, he’s really good gaited and he’s got the desire to go forward.”
There were two Grassroots divisions this season that saw Lakers Bank and Sports Activator compete against one another. Once on June 18 and another time on July 19, both at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
In the June showdown, Sports Activator was leading coming into the final stretch, but Lakers Bank was able to chase him down and just beat him at the wire, while the July race saw Sports Activator go unchallenged by Lakers Bank, rallying from third heading into the final stretch to just win by a head.
The Grassroots three-year-old pacing colts has been a competitive division all-around with six horses reaching triple-digit points on the leaderboard and 11 earning at least one victory during the season.
“Really, any of the top 10 that are in can win [the Grassroots Final],” said Armstrong. “There’s about six or seven that are real good horses. Not even necessarily [Sports Activator] or Lakers Bank … I think it’s going to come down to post position and trip and should be quite a race.”
It would only be fitting that, arguably, the most competitive division in the Ontario Sires Stakes this season would have the most competitive race to decide the championship.
Sports Activator and Lakers Bank will be side-by-side coming out of the gate Saturday beginning from Posts 3 and 4, respectively. Jonathan Drury will be in the sulky behind Sports Activator, while Lakers Bank will be driven by Trevor Henry.
FEATURED PHOTO: Lakers Bank just beating Sports Activator at the wire during a Grassroots race on June 18, 2024 at Woodbine Mohawk Park (Clive Cohen/New Image Media)
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