Yannick Gingras captured the 2026 edition of the Mr. and Mrs. Elbridge T. Gerry Sr. Memorial Hall of Fame Invitational Trot, held on Sunday, July 5 at Goshen Historic Track, when he piloted Southwind Banshee to a 1:56.2 victory over five rivals in the $14,285 event.
Southwind Banshee pushed clear of Full Rights (Ray Schnittker) just before reaching the backstretch but faced immediate pressure from Send It In Hanover (Wally Hennessey), who forced a :28.3 first quarter. The pair continued to duel through middle splits of :58 and 1:27.1 before Southwind Banshee asserted herself at the top of the stretch and trotted 1-3/4 lengths clear of Send It In Hanover at the winning post. Reel Em In (Chris Ryder) rallied mildly for third.
Chase Vandervort trains Southwind Banshee, now a 10-time winner with $231,584 in career earnings in 42 starts, for Arden Homestead Stable.
Gingras, a 2022 inductee into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame, has the fourth-most earnings among drivers in North American harness racing history, having teamed the winners of more than $263 million USD in purses. All told, the five Hall of Fame members who drove in the race — Gingras, Hennessey, Ryder, Dave Palone and Jimmy Takter — have accounted for the winners of more than 47,000 races and $700 million USD in purses.
Three $28,571 New York Excelsior Series events for three-year-old trotters served as co-featured events on the eight-race card. Jason Bartlett drove fillies Bar Hall Beauty and Elqueen to matching 1:59.2 wins for trainers Nick DeVita and George Ducharme, respectively, while Andy Miller teamed Flex Up to a 1:59.3 win in the lone male trot for trainer Julie Miller.
(Goshen Historic Track; photo of Yannick Gingras at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 2023)