Driver Yannick Gingras was not surprised to receive congratulations after winning the Meadowlands Pace last Saturday with A Rocknroll Dance. He was stunned by the number.
“When I got done with the races I had a bunch of text messages and a bunch of missed calls,” Gingras said. “I was surprised by the number of people who texted or called or sent me Facebook messages. You realize when you have big races like (the Meadowlands Pace) everyone is watching. It was definitely very nice.”
The 32-year-old Gingras earned the biggest win of his career when he guided A Rocknroll Dance to a 1-1/2 length victory over Pet Rock in 1:48.1 to capture the $600,000 Meadowlands Pace at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The triumph came eight years after Gingras made his debut in the prestigious event for three-year-old pacers and finished second with favorite Timesareachanging.
“Money-wise, it’s not the biggest race I’ve ever won, but it’s the No. 1 race that I’ve wanted to win,” Gingras said. “It’s definitely very special.”
Gingras’ most lucrative stakes victory came in the $709,100 Fan Hanover with Darlins Delight in 2006. Since then, the Quebec native has added wins in major events such as the Breeders Crown, Cane Pace, Jugette and Governor’s Cup, to name a few, while developing into one of harness racing’s top drivers.
He has ranked among the sport’s top 10 money-winners in each of the past six years and is working on a third consecutive finish in the top five. Gingras, who is the leading driver at the Meadowlands and second at Harrah’s Philadelphia, is No. 2 in purses among all drivers in North America with $5.7 million this season and trails only leader Tim Tetrick in earnings over the past 10 months.
“Knock on wood, it’s been a good year,” Gingras said. “I had power coming back this year, horses I was looking forward to racing, and the start of this year has been just as good (as the end of last year). It’s all about power. Right now the horses I’m getting are sharp. It’s definitely a lot of fun.
“You’re definitely more confident, but it’s a cycle as well,” he added. “You’re only as good as your last drive. When you’re on a roll, everybody wants you. Once you’re doing bad, they might look for somebody else. You try not to get too high when you’re doing very good and you try not to get too low when you’re not doing well. At the end of the year, hopefully you stay healthy and everything adds up.”
Things have added up for Gingras and A Rocknroll Dance since he became the colt’s regular driver last September. Interestingly, Gingras turned down two previous chances to drive the horse because of other commitments.
“Finally it was the right place at the right time,” Gingras said. “Sometimes it just doesn’t work out at first, but it works out at the end.”
A Rocknroll Dance is trained by Jim Mulinix, who owns the colt with Diamond Creek Farm, Denny Miller and J&T Silva Stables. He has won 10 of 19 career races, finished second on five occasions, and earned $1.37 million. The son of Rocknroll Hanover-Wichita Hanover was purchased as a yearling for $15,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale.
His start in the Meadowlands Pace marked the seventh consecutive week he raced -- and he finished in 1:50 or faster in every one of those starts.
“There’s no doubt he’s a tough horse,” Gingras said. “He’s definitely not the fastest horse out there as far as pure speed, but as far as toughness he can go four quarters as tough as anybody. He can go those :26.4 quarters all day long.”
A Rocknroll Dance took the lead in the Meadowlands Pace with a :26.4 opening quarter-mile, at which point Gingras posted quarters of :27.3 and :27 before coming home in :26.4.
“I thought if I could keep the pace a little bit honest there was going to be nobody moving on me,” Gingras said. “I didn’t want to go a 28-and-change quarter because then everybody can move; I figured if I could keep it honest I would be left alone on the front and it would be our race to lose. And I thought my horse would be tough to beat from there.”
With the win, Gingras was able to ease the pain of losing the 2004 Meadowlands Pace with Timesareachanging. At the time, he was trying to become the youngest driver to ever win the Pace.
“When I was 24, to me it was the end of the world if I didn’t win the race,” Gingras said. “You feel like your career is over. You’re young and you’re a little bit stupid and you just don’t appreciate the moment.
“You live and learn. You learn from your mistakes and the more big races you win, the more you realize that once the gate opens it’s just another race.”
Just another race until it is finished and the calls and text messages begin to arrive. Then you realize everyone was watching.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
FELICITATION YANNICK, your
FELICITATION YANNICK, your late grand father would be very proud of you and your accomplishments also your parents must be very proud of you, they raised a very nice person. I raced with both and enjoyed their company. Keep up the good work. Ron