TORONTO, December 26 – The 2015 harness racing season wrapped up Saturday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack with the annual Boxing Day matinee card.

The 221st and final racing day was action-packed with series finals, milestones and meet titles all being handed out.

The feature race of the day was the $34,600 Valedictory Series final for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Mohawk Warrior, who was aiming for a series sweep, led a trio of starters sent out by trainer Richard Moreau in the eight-horse contest.

Rockinonby, Moreau's newest recruit, sprinted off the gate to the front and posted a sizzling opening-quarter of :25.2. Mohawk Warrior and Cajon Lightning lined up in behind their stablemate to situate the Moreau trainees in the top-three spots entering the backstretch.

Mohawk Warrior made a backstretch move to take the lead at the half in :53.3, but Cajon Lightning quickly overtook his stablemate and carried the lead into the final turn. Shades Of Bay, who was pacing fifth, was angled out in the final turn by driver Phil Hudon and was first-up in fourth.

After a three-quarter time of 1:22, Cajon Lightning led the field into the lane, while Shades Of Bay grinded towards the leader on the outside and Mohawk Warrior looked for room up the rail.

Shades Of Bay had the most to offer in the lane and powered by the leader in deep stretch to score a 5/1 upset by a length in 1:50.3. The Moreau trainees rounded out the top-three, as Cajon Lightning held on for second ahead of Mohawk Warrior.

A son of Art Major, Shades Of Bay came into the Valedictory final off a victory Monday night in an overnight event. The Sean Mehlenbacher trainee finished third in the opening leg of the series on December 12.

Shades Of Bay now has three wins in four starts since being purchased by Timothy Kim of Toronto in November. The sophomore pacing colt was winless in three starts as a rookie, but now has four wins in 11 starts this season for earnings of over $51,000.

The clocking of 1:50.3 established a new Valedictory Series record, breaking Lucky Terror's mark of 1:51 set in 2010. Shades Of Bay paid $13.60 to win.

Shades Of Bay

In the Niagara Series final, Wanda Bayama completed the series sweep with a dominating victory in the $33,400 contest.

A field of ten three-year-old pacing fillies lined up, but all eyes were on Wanda Bayama, the 1/5 favourite.

The public's choice paced out comfortably into second, but driver Sylvain Filion quickly right-lined and circled the filly to the lead in the second-quarter. After posting fractions of :56 and 1:25.1, Wanda Bayama waved goodbye to her rivals and opened up more than nine-lengths of separation in the stretch.

The Stephane Larocque trainee cruised home under wraps to win by 7¼ lengths in 1:53. Pinky Tuscadero finished second, while Amazing Control was third.

A daughter of Western Ideal, Wanda Bayama swept the Niagara Series with a trio of impressive victories. Owned by Bayama Farms Inc, the sophomore pacing filly now has seven wins and over $72,000 earned this season.

Wanda Bayama paid $2.70 to win.

Wanda Bayama

In order to be eligible to the Valedictory and Niagara Series, the three-year-old pacers had to be non-winners of $50,000 lifetime as of October 31, 2015.

Also on Saturday's card, Sylvain Filion and Richard Moreau completed their impressive seasons by capturing the driving and training titles for the 2015 season.

Filion led all drivers on the WEG circuit in 2015 with 320 victories, 101 more wins than Doug McNair in second-place. He capped off his season with a three win performance Saturday afternoon.

Richard Moreau was also a run-away winner in the trainer category, as he led all conditioners with 149 victories in 2015.

Filion and Moreau will be recognized for capturing the WEG driving and training titles on Saturday, January 4.

The busy Saturday also included milestone victories for a pair of veteran trainers.

Ben Baillargeon celebrated his 2,000th career training victory Saturday, while Dustin Jones recorded his 1,000th training victory.

Trotter Musical Rhythm went gate-to-wire in the sixth-race to record the milestone victory for Baillargeon.

Baillargeon, 57, finished third this season in the WEG Trainer Standings with 73 victories. The veteran trainer has sent out the winners of over $1.8 million in 2015.

Over the course of his career, Baillargeon's horses have won over $32 million.

Four-year-old pacing mare Nat A Virgin captured the afternoon's eleventh-race to give Jones his 1,000th training victory.

Jones, 54, has won 39 races and sent out the winners of over $1 million this season. His 39 victories is his highest win total since a 43 win season in 2007, while 2015 marks the fifth-time Jones has topped the $1 million mark in seasonal earnings.

The Standardbreds will now take a short-break, but live racing resumes with the first card of 2016 next Saturday, January 2. Post time is 7:30 p.m.

Mark McKelvie