OSS 50th Anniversary: With nods to the past, Grand River Raceway is a track built for the modern era

The OSS is celebrating its 50th anniversary season this year with special anniversary dates at tracks around the province where fans will be able to watch OSS Gold, Grassroots and Prospect Series races, enjoy giveaways and more. Don’t miss the next celebration date as our tour heads to Grand River Raceway, where you will be able to take in OSS Gold Series action.

Grand River Raceway is truly from the modern era.

This racing facility was built with much more than harness racing in mind as it was opened as a multi-use facility on Dec. 3, 2003. However, it didn’t open for its first card of harness racing until April 26, 2004, followed by a grand opening on May 10, 2004.

And though hampered by inclement weather, opening day was still a huge success.

The track was built for the modern age but came with a nod to the past in that it was centered around the traditional old half-mile sized track.

As most people know, this year a completely new 5/8-mile track has been constructed to better meet the needs of today’s racing style. To date, the results have been amazing as multiple speed records have tumbled as many predicted.

While this track was not an original host for OSS events, it might be considered to have “inherited” some of the earlier history recorded at the now-defunct Elmira Raceway, which was located only about 20 kilometres away from the Grand River site.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://oss.ontarioracing.com/oss-50th-anniversary-with-nods-to-the-past-grand-river-raceway-is-a-track-built-for-the-modern-era/

Photo: Pictured is Sammy Silk and driver Steve Byron, a top performer in OSS competition in 1990 and 1991 at two and three.