The 10 days of chuckwagon racing at the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby ended Sunday, however, chuckwagon racing fans won’t have long to wait until the equine energy returns to the track. In fact, fans in Southern Alberta will have the opportunity to experience the WPCA up close at the Battle of the Foothills in High River, Alberta starting Friday July 21st.
The 2023 edition of the Battle of the Foothills will feature 6 days of racing over 2 weekends. The 6 day championship format will see July 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 28th as the qualification round with the top 8 drivers in the aggregate advancing to Semi Final Saturday on July 29th. Of those 8 drivers, the 4 drivers with the fastest time will advance to the Battle of the Foothills Championship Dash on Sunday July 30th.
Fans who followed the WPCA at the Ponoka Stampede will recognize this 6 day format and it isn’t the first time the High River Agricultural Society has hosted a 6 day WPCA event. In 2021, following the announcement that chuckwagon racing would not be part of the modified Calgary Stampede, the World Professional Chuckwagon Association and the High River Agricultural Society worked together to put on a 6 day championship. The event exceeded expectations. Vehicles were lined up to the highway, the races were delayed to ensure fans still waiting to get in would not miss a race and 5 of the 6 days were sold out.
With 24 race days remaining on the WPCA Pro Tour, including the World Finals at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino from August 23-27, every race in High River is important. Defending Battle of the Foothills champion Rae Croteau Jr comes out of Calgary with momentum after recording the top time on night 10. Croteau finished 6th in the 10 day aggregate standings at Calgary and has to be considered one of the favorites to repeat as Battle of the Foothills Champion.
The momentum however, doesn’t stop with Rae. Layne MacGillivray leaves the Calgary Stampede as Rangeland Derby Champion and Kurt Bensmiller looks to be back in championship form after winning the Richard Cosgrave Memorial Aggregate for the best cumulative time over 10 nights. Ross Knight raced against MacGillivray and Bensmiller in the Rangeland Derby Championship. Ross has shown he has the horsepower and Chanse Vigen has proven all year that he is almost untouchable when he gets the lead.
These 5 drivers are just a handful of drivers who could take the 2023 Battle of the Foothills title and as chuckwagon racing fans have witnessed, anything can happen in a wagon race.
Chanse Vigen, Layne MacGillivray, Obrey Motowylo and Evan Salmond are the top 4 drivers in the WPCA Pro Tour standings and will race in the final heat over the first 4 days of racing.
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