Hippodrome 3R will host the Quebec/Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship on Tuesday evening (July 12) and the eight top harness drivers from the region will compete in six races to determine two finalists.

Those two finalists will then head on to The Raceway at Western Fair District on Friday, October 14 for the finals, which will determine who will represent Canada in the 2017 World Driving Championship, which will be hosted in Canada.

Louis-Philippe Roy has been nominated to the tournament for the first time. He has emerged as the hottest driver on the Quebec and Eastern Ontario Circuit thus far this season. Roy is not only the leading driver at the Hippodrome 3R this season, but also leads the driving colony at Rideau Carleton Raceway.

How does it feel to Roy to be invited to the tournament as the leading driver at two tracks this year?

“I think this all allows me to be known and noticed,” Roy said. “So it might help me to have the opportunities to drive more horses in different locations.

“When I started to drive, my main goal was not really to be the leading driver at a track, but to drive horses every day and earn a living this way. It is going very good this year.”

Driving at two tracks that are more than a three-hour drive between them can be very taxing not only for the driver, but the car, too.

“Last year I did 70,000 KM (44,000 miles) with my car,” Roy said. “Now that I have moved near Montreal, I often travel with people transporting horses. My friends would tell you that I’m an easy shipper, as I can sleep almost anywhere, especially in the car!”

Perhaps it is time for Roy to look into a small private plane, or perhaps a helicopter like Herve Filion had to go from Freehold Raceway to Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceway during his heyday?

“I’m not really sure I can afford that yet!” Roy joked.

How does Roy prepare for a tournament such as this? He studies the race program, looks at the horses he has driven before and how others might react to them and then he gets behind the starting gate and throws caution to the wind.

“I talked with my colleague at 3R, Daniel Delisle on Sunday.” Roy explained. “He told me that my odds were not very good for Tuesday. He listed me as the eighth and last at the end of the tournament. But to say that I won’t try to be one of the two finalists would be lying! As they say: Winners find a way. Losers find an excuse.

“I know that driver Pascal Berube will be well prepared for Tuesday,” Roy laughed, “as he took this Monday afternoon off from his job to focus on the tournament! Professor Delisle told me that Jacques Beaudoin might be the one to beat Tuesday night according to him.

“I was also told that Professor Delisle had predicted that Sylvain Filion would finish last in the All-Star Tournament at 3R in June,” Roy said, “and Sylvain just lost out the championship to Jody Jamieson in the very last race of the tournament. So maybe I do have a chance!”

Roy will need to be at his best and perhaps a little luck on his side never hurts as he will be competing against a top flight group of drivers.

Along with Pascal Berube and Jacques Beaudoin, Roy will be facing veteran horsemen Gaetan Lamy, Gord Brown, Guy Gagnon, Sylvain Lacaille and Brett MacDonald.

There are also three divisions of the second round of the Breeders Cup Series for three-year-old trotting colts and fillies. Featured will be the return of opening round winners Y A Jailhouse Jodi (Race 1), Holiday Party (Race 3) and Wildwild Men (Race 6).

First-race post time on Tuesday night is 7:15 p.m, with the RDC races slotted in Races 2, 4, 5 and 7-9. To view Tuesday’s entries, click on one of the following links: Hippodrome 3R - Tuesday Entries – Tuesday Program Pages

(with files from QJC)