18-year-old takes reins as Leamington Raceway announcer as harness racing season begins

"And they're off!" Nathan Bain exclaimed, leaning out the window of the announcer booth as race season got under way at the Leamington Raceway this Sunday afternoon.

"It's just a dream come true," the 18-year-old said of having been chosen to be track announcer for the 2020 race season.

"My grandpa's been involved 50 years and my dad's been involved most of his life too so it's just kind of in my blood," he said.

Leamington Raceway picked up the harness racing event after Windsor Raceway shut down in 2012. There are 13 race days scheduled for this season but because of COVID-19 restrictions, Nathan is currently announcing to an empty grandstand.

"It definitely changes everything, " he said. "Our focus is mainly online this year."

While fans can't enjoy races on the sidelines, there is a live stream on the raceway's website for people to enjoy the races and betting is available through an online service. The raceway expects to open to spectators once the region enters Stage 3 of reopening.

Nathan said that being accurate and clear is the most important things for him when it comes to doing his job right.

"You've got to deliver the story to the fans... Right now it's just online but you've got to give them the best information possible so they know what's happening on the track."

Family proud

Nathan's mother, Lynnette Bain, said that he fell in love with racing right around the time Windsor Raceway was closing.

"He had race colours, he would wear them around the house, pretend he was driving a horse and then he started listening to the announcers and he liked the excitement and the adrenaline of the call," she said.

Nathan first showed his skills when he was 12-years-old when, his mother said, he videotaped himself calling a race. That landed him the opportunity to call his first race on Kids Day at the track.

"[He] played it for the executive and they said 'shoot he's pretty good, let's give him a try,'" she said.

"We just listened to that call the other day and I was blown away about how good it was for a 12-year-old. He was so clear and accurate, so it just started from there."

She said Nathan reached out to other callers to train, including Marty Adler, known for his years calling races in Windsor. By Nathan's 18th birthday, she said, he already had 100 calls under his belt.

"I can't even describe how I feel, it's pretty exciting... It's just been a dream for him and something he's worked hard to accomplish."

Others share in that pride, including Nathan's grandfather Tom Bain, who is also mayor of Lakeshore and a member of the board of the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association.

"To have him hired on full-time as our announcer is great. He's done a lot of announcing throughout Canada and the United States so to have him here announcing for us full-time [I'm] very proud of him and he does a great job,"he said.

And the horse drivers are also taking note of the new voice echoing from the grandstands.

"Our boy's doing a great job, we're the ones that kind of brought him along and he's just matured, he's a wonderful young man," driver and trainer Mark Williams said.

"I think he's doing a heck of a good job."