Spending time with the Hippodrome 3R’s CEO/General Manager, Joe Faucher, you get a good feeling that the 2017 race season at the Hippodrome 3R is going to be very positive.

Faucher has strong ambitions and confidence for the only pari-mutuel racetrack in the province of Quebec that gets underway opening day on Sunday afternoon, April 23.

Starting with a main goal of increasing pari-mutuel handle by at least 10 per cent over the prior year, plus the addition of new wagers, are just some of the new features at the track.

An increase in purses for the Open and Preferred races for both trotters and pacers, a new daycare facility for children, a new dining room caterer, the addition of food trucks, world class drivers performing and other innovative events are just some of the highlights of the new season at H3R.

According to Faucher, each of the 40 live race programs scheduled this year will end with a ten-horse field that will include a Pick-5 wager. The racetrack will put $5,000 into the prize pool in the first program on April 23 and the jackpot will be allowed to grow until the last program in May with a mandatory payment. The process will be resumed in June, and again in the last program of each month of racing with a mandatory payment.

Speaking with enthusiasm, Faucher is very pleased that many trainers and owners have confirmed in recent weeks the purchase of horses to compete in the enhanced Invitation Trot and Pace that will be presented each week with a purse of $8,000, and the Preferred to race for $5,000. By raising the calibre of horses, Faucher hopes for a better show for the race fans.

Already the drivers and trainers are getting ready for the start of the season. With last year’s top driver, Louis-Philippe Roy, making his mark in Toronto now on the WEG circuit, Roy will return to H3R on major stakes days to drive, but will not be a regular at the track this season.

Hoping to fill that gap will be the return of Richard ‘The Black Cat’ Simard, who has an impressive 6,700 career wins and over $29 million in purses won. He will be joined by H3R regulars, Stephane Gendron, Pascal Berube, Mario Charron, Stephane Brosseau, Sylvain LaCaille and veteran reinsman Gaeton Lamy, who has announced this is his last season of racing.

Leading trainer Yves Tessier will be returning to defend his title against Maxime Velaye, Jean Tourigny, Daniel Martin, Alain Martin and Dany Fountaine.

This season the parents of young families will be offered a daycare service during the presentation of the races, with activities generally popular among young children. This innovation at H3R is likely to be highly prized.

A new caterer will be in the dining room throughout the season and to liven up one’s appetite, there will be a special food theme each month during the race season with appropriate menus, bringing variety and quality to the dining room.

In addition, Faucher is proud to announce this week the arrival of two food trucks at the racetrack, a first in the city of Trois-Rivières.

As announced during this winter, the Hippodrome 3R will present two major driver tournaments this season. The second annual All-Star Drivers Tournament will be on June 4 with participants as prestigious and interesting as in the first edition. The track will be announcing the names of these stars in the coming weeks.

And on a special Wednesday night program on August 16, 3R will host a division of the World Driving Championship. This is the final division before the tournament heads to Prince Edward Island for the finals.

Fans at H3R will get to see New Zealand’s defending champion, Dexter Dunn, take on Canada’s Brandon Campbell, USA’s Marcus Miller plus top drivers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Faucher is proud to announce that some 60 people, including 25 from Australia, are expected in Trois-Rivières for this grand event. Also, that week, on Sunday, August 20, is the fourth addition of the renewal of the Hippodrome 3R’s top event, the $200,000 Prix D’Ete for four-year-old pacers.

This year, a record 33 four-year-old pacers made the first nomination payment to be eligible. The second nomination payment is due April 15.

The $1,100,000 Quebec Sires Stakes for two, three, four and five-year-old trotters and pacers will take place throughout the summer with the finals for two and three-year-olds, the richest race card of the season (over $500,000), taking place on Sunday, September 3.

The regional fair circuit in the province, "an essential element to the development of racing in Quebec," according to Faucher, will benefit this year from a $50,000 addition to its budget, now inflated to $275,000 for 2017. It is the fair circuit that helps in developing not only young horses for the pari-mutuel ranks, but also young drivers and trainers.

When the Hippodrome 3R opens April 23, it will also feature a new post time for the first race on Sundays at 12:50 p.m. When night racing resumes on Tuesday, June 6, the post time will be 7:00 pm.

(Quebec Jockey Club)