When Monticello Raceway presents its Maple Leaf Pace on Monday, May 18, talented Canadian reinsman Richard Simard will bring his 5,291 career victories to the event. The Maple Leaf Pace, for drivers of Canadian descent, will be the fifth leg of the 'Mighty M’s Heritage Drivers Series.

For years, Simard’s name had been atop of the driving colonies at Windsor Raceway and at tracks in Detroit. When he moved back to Quebec, Simard was among the driving leaders at Hippodrome de Montreal, Hippodrome Trois Rivieres and Rideau Carlton.

Though he won a huge amount of overnight races, one of his major driving victories came behind Oye Vay in 1997 when he won the $112,000 Des Smith Classic at Rideau Carleton Raceway in 1:51:2. And a few years ago, Simard steered the three-year-old pacing filly Legend Dorleans to a 1:54 score in the $189,000 in the Coupe des Eleveurs final at Hippodrome de Montreal.

Simard is currently competing at Pompano Park and his last night driving there will be on Saturday night, May 16 which means the diminutive driver will have to hustle to be at Monticello to race on Monday afternoon (May 18) for the Maple Leaf Pace.

“I’ll be there, you can count on it,” Simard told the Monticello Raceway publicity office today. “I’ll have to get a start right after the races at Pompano, but I planned on going north to Tioga Downs and hopefully will be able to get drives both there and at Monticello Raceway.

“For years I was in Montreal but I had to leave because they closed the racetrack there and a lot of us were left out in the cold,” Simard added. “But I’m used to traveling and plan on staying the summer at Tioga and Monticello.”

Simard will be joined in the Maple Leaf Pace by, among others, fellow Canadians Stephane Bouchard and Denis St. Pierre.

Expected to be joining the fray is some local drivers of Canadian heritage (John Gilmour, Mike Doherty, Jacques Primeau, Terry Finch and Bruce Borden).

“We also have had inquiries from Keith Haase and Ron Turcotte, Jr., so it appears that we now have enough drivers for a full field in our Maple Leaf Pace,” noted Eric Warner, the Mighty M’s director of Racing. “We’ll be drawing for post positions on Wednesday, May 13.”

(Monticello)