It was the Yannick Gingras Show at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday, Aug. 16, as the Hall Of Fame horseman drove 10 winners, equaling the Harrah’s one-day record set by George Napolitano Jr. on Nov. 11, 2009 and again on Sept. 17, 2015.

Gingras also won the first seven contests on the card, missing the known record for consecutive wins on one card by one. Before the USTA's Trotting and Pacing Guide was streamlined and put online, it carried three drivers who had won eight consecutive races on a program: Stephane Bouchard (whose wins came in the first eight races at Yonkers one night), Brad Kramer at the Gladwin County (MI) Fair, and Jim Morrill Jr. at Tioga Downs. Gingras’s bid for this list was with Ronaldo N, who had not won since June 7, and Yannick raced the horse on the lead with pressure, being caught only in the shadow of the wire by 10-1 shot Rough Odds by a neck.

Gingras was second in the ninth race as well, as his stretch leader Mr Dunnigans was caught by the favoured Straight Up Cool by half a length. After being away from the Philly winners circle for 57 minutes, Yannick found his way back to its comfortable confines after driving the Always B Miki mare Always B Naughty to a 1:49.1 victory in the day’s $20,548 distaff featured pace.  Always B Naughty regained control past a :26.3 quarter, put up midsplits of :54.4 and 1:22.3, then blitzed home in :26.3 for the easy victory for trainer Nancy Takter, who co-owns the winner of $599,009 with Let It Ride Stables Inc., Odds On Racing, and RBH Ventures Inc.

After no drive in the five-horse 11th race, Gingras won the 12th with Twin B Fighter and the 13th with Real Lucky N, putting him in double figures. Gingras sent Play The Field to the top in the finale as he attempted to break the local record, but Just A Rocket Man lived up to his name by putting in a :27 third quarter to sweep past the leader and power on to victory, with Play The Field settling for second. Gingras wound up his day with the 10 victories – those horses winning by an aggregate 30-3/4 lengths.

Gingras has won his share of Harrah’s major stakes over the years (his name appears on the track records page three times), and he is one of only three drivers to have won the local UDR title on more than one occasion – the other two are named Napolitano and Tetrick. (If you’re a numbers person, Yannick’s UDR for the day was .897.)

In the co-featured $18,493 pace, the Captaintreacherous sophomore filly Donegal Spirit had command a few strides away from the gate and she never relinquished control while taking a new mark of 1:51.1. After putting up fractions of :27, :56.1, and 1:23.4, Donegal Spirit didn’t appear to draw a laboured breath yet still shot home in :27.2 for driver Gingras and trainer Andrew Harris, whose A Harris Racing LLC co-owns the sharp filly with William Pollock and Bruce Areman.

Sunday’s 12:40 card at Philly features Pennsylvania-sired two-year-old trotting colts in their last preliminaries before their rich Championship events in the Sire Stakes and Stallion Series, to be held in early September.

(PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia)