The invitation surprised him, but Gilles Gendron is certainly keen to answer the call.
On May 19, the 74-year-old horseman will be at Rideau Carleton Raceway as the Ottawa track recognizes two of the winningest drivers ever produced in Canada, Gendron and 62-year-old Mario Baillargeon. The two Quebec natives are among the small group of Canadian drivers with more than 7,000 career victories.
At Rideau, they'll be signing autographs before the races and also driving. The track will be giving out 200 baseball caps bearing their names.
Now working part-time as a marshal at a golf course near his home in St. Eustache, Que., Gendron has scaled back his involvement in standardbred racing in recent years but still trains a couple of horses and drives on occasion.
"It's hard to quit completely, but I guess I'll have to some day," Gendron said.
His last win dates from 2017, while Baillargeon already has a half-dozen victories in 2019.
Gendron is looking forward to renewing his rivalry on the track with Baillargeon, who he raced against many times over the years, mostly at Blue Bonnets racetrack in Montreal, where he was leading driver in the 1970s.
"I've known Mario a long time and talk to him regularly on the phone, though it's been a while since I've seen him. I used to train my horses at his father's farm. When I went to Florida, he spent a winter at my place," said Gendron, whose 7,052 victories include several behind hall-of-fame trotters Grades Singing and Garland Lobell.
He also raised a foal who would go on to a pretty good career after being sold at auction: Cam Fella.
All of Gendron and Baillargeon’s purse earnings on the night will be donated to local Ottawa charity, Shepherds of Good Hope. To view the entries for Sunday's card of harness racing at Rideau Carleton, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)