The third of four 2026 Regional Driving Championships (RDC) is underway as Hippodrome 3R hosts the Quebec / Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship (QEORDC) in Trois-Rivières, Que.
QEORDC Leg 1 (Race 3)
Hippodrome 3R's longtime leading driver Pascal Berube opened the eight-race competition by sending trainer Alain Filion's pacing mare TJ All The Way ($6) first-up approaching the half and taking a brief two-hole tuck down the backstretch before catching American Rhythm (Nick Boyd), whose killer crossover move from the outside post at the start landed her the role of pacesetter in the race. TJ All The Way reeled in American Rhythm in the stretch and won by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:59.3. HF Agent Andreoli (Ryan Guy) rounded out the top three. The favoured Godro Bets Off (William Roy) broke stride in the first quarter.
QEORDC Leg 2 (Race 4)
Driver Nick Boyd was back on the front end in the second leg with his first draft pick and the 1-5 favourite, Kinnder Colosse ($2.50), and this time he held off Pascale Berube, driving Lightning Sena, by three-quarters of a length, with Woodmere Rebel (Marie-Claude Auger) the only other contender heading for home and finishing third off a pocket trip. Trained by Alexane Laroche, three-year-old pacing gelding Kinnder Colosse led the strung out field in his 1:59.2 victory to remain undefeated in two career starts and put Boyd atop the leaderboard in a tie with Berube.
QEORDC Leg 3 (Race 5)
Robert Shepherd struck in the third leg after getting in the mix early with pylon starter Little Diamond ($8), a six-year-old pacing gelding trained by Guy Roy. After Stock (Nick Boyd) and Odds On Carmel (William Roy) took turns on the front during the contested opening panel, Shepherd moved back out for the retake with his charge and cleared with a quarter-mile to go en route to the 1:56.1 victory. Windsun Hudson (Denis St. Pierre) rallied into contention to pick up the chase as they rounded the final turn and finished second while Almost There Boss (Stephane Brosseau) bested Odds On Carmel in a tight show finish well behind the winner. Pascale Berube took a slight lead in the point standings over Boyd, with Shepherd moving into the top three.
QEORDC Leg 4 (Race 6)
Denis St. Pierre delivered with his first draft pick in the fourth leg as 8-5 favourite Frisky Hill ($7.10) emerged from an early first-quarter tussle between foes with the lead and the four-year-old pacing gelding took a new lifetime mark of 1:57 for trainer Vanessa Boisvert Dontigny. Always B Kris (Stephane Brosseau) rallied three-wide off stalled cover down the backstretch the final time and finished second over pocket chaser Siddhartha (Marie-Claude Auger). St. Pierre jumped to second in the tournament standings with his winning performance, sitting four points off leader Pascal Berube (33-29) at the halfway mark.
QEORDC Leaderboard (after Leg 4)
Pascal Berube 33
Denis St. Pierre 29
Nick Boyd 27
Robert Shepherd 27
Stephane Brosseau 23
Marie-Claude Auger 18
Ryan Guy 16
William Roy 12
Post time for the first race on Sunday's card is 12 noon (EDT), with the QEORDC in races three through 10.
The eight drivers participating in the QEORDC are Marie-Claude Auger, Pascal Berube, Nick Boyd, Stephane Brosseau, Ryan Guy, William Roy, Robert Shepherd and Denis St. Pierre.
The top two point earners from each RDC will advance to the 2026 National Driving Championship (NDC) on Sunday, July 26 at Clinton Raceway in Clinton, Ont. The NDC driver line-up includes Ontario Regional champion Tyler Borth and runner-up Jody Jamieson along with Western Regional champion Phil Giesbrecht and runner-up Kelly Hoerdt. The Atlantic Regional will take place on Tuesday, June 23 at Red Shores Summerside in Summerside, P.E.I.
The winner of the NDC will represent Canada at the 2027 World Driving Championship (WDC), which will be hosted by Standardbred Canada. Canada's James MacDonald received an automatic bye into the 2027 WDC as the reigning World Driving Champion.
To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click one of the following links: Hippodrome 3R - Sunday Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
Watch the QEORDC live from Hippodrome 3R below.
SCORING
The Regional Driving Championships and the National Driving Championship will adopt the point system utilized in the World Driving Championship. Points will be awarded on the order of finish as follows:
Number of Starters: 8
15 points (1st), 10 (2), 7 (3), 5 (4), 4 (5), 3 (6), 2 (7), 1 (8).
Number of Starters: 7
14 points (1st), 9 (2), 6 (3), 4 (4), 3 (5), 2 (6), 1 (7).
In the event of a scratch, the driving rep drawn to a horse shall drive the ‘also eligible’ horse.
In the event of a horse being scratched or where no horse is available, five points shall be awarded to the driver concerned. If a horse is disqualified or a horse and driver fail to complete the race, they will receive one point.
In the event of a dead heat for any placing in any race, the points for the horses involved will be added together and divided equally among the drivers concerned (eg. If there’s a dead heat for third between two horses, the points for third and fourth place will be added and divided among the drivers).
(Standardbred Canada)