The Quebec Jockey Club will be hosting a rare three-day weekend of harness racing at the Hippodrome 3R that will feature stakes and special events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The weekend has been billed as a ‘Festival of Racing.’
Breeders Cup For Trotters Friday
The big weekend will kick off on Friday evening with the opening round of the Breeders Cup Series for three-year-old trotting colts and fillies.
There will be three weeks of preliminary action that will culminate with the series’ top-eight point returning on Sunday, September 8 for their respective $65,000 finals.
The opening round will feature trotting fillies in Race 2, where rivals Cho Choo Blue (Post 2) will take on Kinderunbelievable (Post 8).
The trotting colts will be in action in Race 5, as Only For Justice (Post 1) and stablemate Clevisse (Post 8) will race as an entry for trainer Dany Fontaine and the Gaetan Bono Stable of Montreal, who bred and own both horses.
First-race post time will at 7:00 p.m.
To view the harness racing entries for Friday at H3R, click the following link: Friday Entries – Hippodrome 3R.
Quebec Regional Fair Saturday
On Saturday, the Quebec Jockey Club will host the Quebec Regional Fair, which will feature a family fun day at the track. The first of the afternoon’s 13 races will head behind the starter at 1:00 p.m.
Special activities on Saturday for the race fans will include drawings for rides in a two-seat sulky on the racetrack, rides in the starting gate, plus drawings for dining-room packages and betting vouchers.
There will be a live horse on display at the track entrance for fans to take photos with, and there will be balloon sculptors and face painting, etc. for the children. All of the events are free for the patrons.
In terms of live racing, there will be many two-year-old trotters and pacers that will be competing for the first time. There will also be a unique half-mile race (Race 10) that will feature top pacers Surf Report (Post 6) and Allstar Seelster (Post 1). Since there is no record of a half mile race at the Hippodrome 3R, the winner will automatically become the track record holder.
In addition to live racing, the track will also play host to a special Monte Race (racing under saddle) with trotters. There will be no wagering on the exhibition race, which will feature a purse of $600, which has been donated by Demers Excavation Company.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at H3R, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Hippodrome 3R.
Quebec-Bred Series Finals Sunday
The Quebec-Bred Series for older horses will culminate on Sunday with four $30,000 finals for the trotters and pacers. Additionally, the opening round of the Breeders Cup Series for three-year-old pacers will be on tap.
There are two trotters and one pacer that could become the first ever to win four Quebec championships: Capteur De Reve, Maximuscle and Atomic Million AM.
Capteur De Reve will be looking for his fourth consecutive title in Race 7. Now age five, the son of Muscle Mass will have a very tough task, as he will start from the outside in Post 7 for driver Stephane Gendron. Last week, he beat the odds-on favourite, Seeyou Men, who has drawn Post 1.
Maximuscle will start from Post 3 for driver Louis-Philippe Roy and will be in search of his fourth consecutive title. Other contenders in the race will include track record holder Wildwild Men (Post 8) and Kinnder Dangerous (Post 2).
Then, in the tenth race, Atomic Million AM will head the final for older pacing horses and will start from Post 5 for driver Guy Gagnon. Atomic Million AM, who is undefeated at H3R this season, will be in search of his fifth consecutive win this year for breeder/owner/trainer Alain Martin. Now age eight, the son of Million Dollar Cam boasts four wins from six starts this year. He recorded the fastest win of his 2019 campaign last week (1:54.1), which is the fastest mile at H3R this season to this point.
Other standouts in the race are Kinnder Jackson (Post 3), HP Patriote (Post 8) and Major Lou Beka (Post 2).
The opening round of the Breeders Cup Series for the pacers will take place in Race 2, 4, 9 and 11. The featured colts and fillies will be Cooking Up The Speed (Race 2), Ashleysbest (Race 4), who will be looking for her fourth consecutive win, YS Sunshine (Race 4), GA Speed Gaby (Race 9) and Bettor Now (Race 11).
First-race post time on Sunday will be at 1:00 p.m.
For a free race program, visit quebecjockeyclub.com.
To view the harness racing entries for Sunday at H3R, click the following link: Sunday Entries – Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from the Quebec Jockey Club)