In 2012, Arthur horseman Trevor Henry made local headlines as the top dash-winning driver in Canada.
In 2013, he could make international headlines as the World Driving Champion.
Henry has accepted an invitation from Standardbred Canada to defend the nation’s title in the 2013 World Driving Championship (WDC).
The 20-heat WDC Tour opens in Reims, France on June 9, where the first five races will be contested. Four races will be contested in Normandy, at Caen, on June 10. Angers will host five races on June 12. Five dashes will be raced the following day at Mauqenchy.
The series concludes with a single heat on June 15 at Vincennes-Paris, home of the famed Prix d’Amerique.
Henry, 41, drove 533 winners during the 2012 season to top the charts for all Canadian drivers, while adding $3.2 million in purse money to his stats.
Both numbers were career bests for the talented reinsman. Lifetime, he has driven in over 25,345 races, accumulated 4,665 wins and driven horses to earnings in excess of $30 million.
He also won driving titles at The Raceway at The Western Fair District, Grand River Raceway, Clinton Raceway and Hanover Raceway last year.
“It’s an honour to represent your country in any sport and I’m absolutely thrilled to have even been considered,” Henry told Standardbred Canada after accepting the invitation.
“I’ll have to brush up on my French before we leave … it’s pretty rough … and I’ll want to study some video of the racing there.”
Jody Jamieson, who won the 2011 WDC title for Canada, withdrew from the event because the scheduling of the 2013 WDC races conflicted with major stakes races on the Woodbine/Mohawk Racetrack circuit.
In 2011, Henry represented Ontario in the National Driving Championship at Charlottetown Driving Park in PEI. This will be his first international competition.
2013 marks the 26th edition of the WDC, which is contested every other year in different host countries. Canada has four wins in the WDC: the inaugural WDC in 1970 (Herve Filion), 1999 (Sylvain Filion), 2001 and 2011 (Jody Jamieson).
Henry will compete against drivers from nine other countries. Although the 2013 lineup has yet to be announced, it’s likely he will face many of the same nations from the 2011 competition: Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, Sweden, USA, Belgium, Hungary, Australia, and France.
Submitted by Grand River Raceway; compiled with files from Standardbred Canada
