Guy Gagnon drove six winners, including two from his own stable, as the Rideau Carleton Raceway top driver added to his lead in the standings on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
Gagnon, who went six-for-eight in the sulky on the 10-race card, piloted and harnessed the night's fastest winner, Smokestack ($3.80), in the fifth dash. The gelding marched from fifth to the front in the third quarter, and he was in command to the finish in a two-length, 1:53.4 win.
Gagnon teamed up with leading trainer Mandy Archer for his first driving win of the evening, getting Bettor At Hightide ($2.10) home to take the second race by 3-1/2 lengths in 1:54.1. The reinsman then gave the Michel Ouimet-trained Sports Jacket ($6.50) a pocket trip in the sixth race and was rewarded with a head victory in 1:56.3 in a four-across finish.
He came right back to win the seventh, providing Woodmere Gaelic ($3.10) with the garden trip and sending him up the passing lane to score by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:55 for trainer Steve Belisle. Never Mind N ($2.70) then front-stepped to victory in the ninth race to be Gagnon’s fifth winner and the second for Archer.
Beach Journey ($13) muscled to the front and cut the mile in the finale, winning by a head in 1:54 to give Gagnon a training double and his sixth driving victory of the night.
Gagnon has amassed 151 driving victories this year in 477 starts for a win rate of 31.7 per cent. The 2024 O’Brien Award of Horsemanship recipient is also 66-for-216 as a trainer in 2025 and is now 13 wins away from 2,000 in his conditioning career. His driving tally at Rideau this season sits at 130, 52 clear of second-placed Robert Shepherd. Gagnon is also second in the training standings behind Archer.
To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Guy Gagnon winning on July 13, 2025)