James MacDonald: Canadian Harness Racer Joins the NZ Leg of the World Drivers Championship

This week, Christchurch proudly welcomes elite Canadian harness racer James MacDonald as he competes in the New Zealand leg of the World Drivers Championship.

Racing Across Kaikoura & Addington

The championship unfolds across two iconic tracks:

• Kaikoura Trotting Club  Scenic coastal views meet passionate racing fans in this unforgettable venue.
• Addington Raceway  The beating heart of Christchurch harness racing, hosting premier events all year long.

Part of Cup and Show Week

James’s visit coincides with Cup and Show Week—Canterbury’s most celebrated sporting festival. 

Global Talent Meets Kiwi Passion
With 10 countries represented across 24 races, the World Drivers Championship is a showcase of international excellence. The driver with the highest points takes home the title.

Joining Kiwi legends Dexter Dunn and Blair Orange, he adds to the global flavour and elevates New Zealand’s growing reputation in the world of harness racing.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Great to be here and excited for a great couple
of weeks of racing.

Speaker 3 (00:07):
Well we are too. And when I mentioned World Driving,
I'm sure a lot of our listeners would think that
it's about race cars. But how would you like to
explain how this World Driving Championship pans out between the
Kai cord A cut which we all know about and
when you finish. I think you finished at Addington. Don't
you want to live Inmber the eleventh?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, I believe so, because I think we're there for
New Zealand Cup Day.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
So it's exciting.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Ten countries represented some of the best drivers in the world,
and we compete.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
I think it's twenty four races.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
I believe we compete at the highest number of points
wins and it's a great event. They do it every
two years. Just a really real pleasure to be involved
in it. This, like you said, my third time. Yeah,
it's awesome to be in the event, and it's awesome
to be here in New Zealand. I know a lot
of people back home from New Zealand and they all
rave about how beautiful the country is. And just from

(01:01):
what I've the short little piece I've been here. You
can see it's it's an absolutely gorgeous country. Twenty seventeen,
I raced one of the top drivers over here in
the world, driving Championship, Dexter Done. And then he since
moved to North America and set the world on fire
over there. And you know, Dexter and I are are
good buddies and it's great to get to finally see

(01:22):
his country. Last weekend was our kind of big finale
for North America racing to the Breeders Crown was held
this year at Woodbine in Canada, Woodbind Mohawk Park. I
raced a lot that weekend, unfortunately didn't win any Breeders
grounds this year.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
I raced Monday night at Woodbind Mohawk Park and then
a couple I had Tuesday off and flew out Wednesday.
We flew at Wednesday, got here Friday with the time
change and you know, kind of losing a day. So yeah,
I've I've been racing all year round and traveling lots
for racing, so I'm in good racing form.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
I guess you would say, oh, yes.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
It's great because you've got your families involved.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yep, yeah, I have.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
I have five brothers, and they're all somewhat related to
harness racing. I have two brothers that drive horses professionally
as well, and yeah, big big horse racing family. My
mom took the pictures at the track in Prince Edbert
Island where I'm from, and my dad had some brood mares,
so kind of kind of raised into it and uh

(02:20):
and always been involved in it.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
When you're racing around the world, do you have the
same structure about the races? Like do you have mobile starts?
Do you all race the same way around the track?
You don't go the opposite way? Do we do? Do you?

Speaker 1 (02:34):
That's correct? Yeah, we always go the the I guess clockwise. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I have raced in like the one one race in
my life counterclockwise, but it was just like a big
event day and they had some some just different kind
of racing shorter distance, longer distance, and one the wrong way.
So I have done it once before. It's very very different.
I'm excited for it, but yeah, it's all mobile. Starting

(03:00):
in Canada shouldn't be too many surprises, but they're well
for sure, there always is. In North America, we almost
always race one mile, so at eighteen hundred meters and
I know a lot of the races here will be different,
different distances, and so it's stuff to watch for. But
it's stuff that I've done before in the past, in
previous World Driving Championships.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
I've always thought with harness racing and given that you're
at the back of the horse in the sulky and
you have to be brave. It's a bit like Formula
one Grand Prix drivers. They have got to have lots
of courage because the pace and the closeness of your
competitors it's massive.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean we drive I think their horses
go sixty kilometers an hour and sometimes we're millimeters apart.
So it's you know, you can't be out there and
have any fear or any concern or it's going to
just take away from your driving.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
You know. We usually try and have fun with it
and harness racings.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
In my opinions, it's it's something that when new people
are introduced it, they usually fall in.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Love with it.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
So it's just we have to find ways to get
people to the racetrack because it's a it's a really
amazing sport.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
It's amazing how many career wins you've had over four
thousand career wins. I think Dixter Dun's tooth out just
over the two thousand mark.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, Dexter's been been winning a lot of races in
North America every year though since he's gone over there,
I think I think he's been there five years and
I want to say he's been driver the year for
four of those years. So he's uh, he's a special
special driver and uh and I honestly a really great person.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
And the Oranges on New Zealand reap, isn't he?

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yes, Blair Orange is representing New Zealand. Blair's done it
quite a few times. This is my first time. I
just met him ten minutes ago. I know Dexter had
mentioned he's a he's a really great guy. So and
my my friend Doug McNair, who represented Canada he raced
with Blair as well, and said, just just another great
a great person and a fantastic horse driver.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, the amazing thing about having hit here in New Zealand,
surely that will suit blear Orange. I mean he will
know the tricks inside out.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, big time.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
Like you said, I was a winner in twenty seventeen
and took advantage of my home field advantage, so it
makes a big difference. Any little advantage you can get,
you got to used to your advantage. So I'm sure
Blair will have a leg up on us, but that's okay,
and it's just going to be a great competition.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
And another question, which horses will you drive?

Speaker 2 (05:27):
They have drawn for Sunday at Kaikora, but we're just
going to be racing horses from New Zealand, so it's
not like any horses come over or anything. It's an
open draw and I'm not sure they exactly the rules
on how they draw the drivers and post positions here,
but there's usually a format they stick to. Everyone I
talked to said it's the best time of the year

(05:47):
in New Zealand, and that's the best time to be here.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
It's the perfect timing.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
It just fit amazing in my schedule and I think
a lot of the guy's schedules. So we're honored to
be here and we can't wait to see what New
Zealand has to offer. My wife and her mother came
over for the trip, so we're just looking to meet
new people, have a lot of fun and hopefully you
know Fingers Grass, We have some luck on the track.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
Well, I hope we tune the weather on. I hope
it's lovely and warm, and that it is a really
memorable experience for you, James McDonald, Thank you so much
for giving us some time.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
Go well all right, Thanks so much for having me
Laslie for more from News Talks at b Listen live
on air or online, and

Speaker 3 (06:27):
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