Two of the best drivers in North America, Sylvain Filion and Louis-Philippe Roy, will be returning to Hippodrome 3R this coming Sunday (Sept. 27) to compete in the $480,000 Quebec Championship Finals.
It will be 'Super Sunday' in Quebec, as finals will be be held for the trotters and pacers in the Breeders Trophy Series and Future Stars Series. There will be four Breeders Trophy Finals for three-year-olds, each with a purse of $65,000, and four Future Stars Finals for the two-year-olds, each with a purse of $55,000. Super Sunday is the richest day of horse racing in all of Quebec.
Hippodrome 3R is where both Sylvain Filion and Louis-Philippe Roy began their careers. Both drivers are now standouts on the Woodbine Entertainment circuit in Ontario.
Sylvain Filion, pictured driving home a winner at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
“I will be there next Sunday for sure,” said Filion, who had raced at H3R earlier this month, when he drove his father Yves' horses in the Future Stars Series. “I always like coming back to drive at H3R.”
Yves Filion and his Bayama Farms have two top two-year-old pacing colts in Future Stars Final, Cadillac Bayama and Colonel Bayama. Cadillac Bayama will be driven by Filion. Bayama Farms will also have Celia Bayama in the Future Stars Final for the fillies.
Filion has had five drives at H3R this season with three wins, one second and one third-place finish.
Louis-Philippe Roy, pictured driving home a winner at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
For Roy, who is also known as 'LPR,' it will be the first time that he has driven at H3R this season.
“It will be nice to see my friends from the track,” LPR said. “And I also planned to spend the night in Quebec City with my parents after the races.
“My good friend Francis Richard asked me if I wanted to come and drive all of his horses in the finals,” LPR explained. “So, I thought it would be a good time to plan a little trip in Quebec, as I didn’t have the chance to go back since Christmas with everything that happened with the COVID.”
Both Filion and Roy know they are coming back to their home track and facing some tough drivers. The meet's leader, Pascal Berube, sports a Universal Driver Rating (UDR) of .401, and Stephane Gendron currently has a UDR of .400. Stephane Brosseau, Pierre-Luc Roy (who is LPR’s older brother), Francis Picard, Steeven Genois and the youngster, Samuel Fillion (LPR’s brother-in-law), are all top-class drivers.
The draw for post positions for Super Sunday in Quebec will take place on Wednesday afternoon. Post time for H3R's Sunday card will be at 1:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.hippodrome3R.ca.
(Quebec Jockey Club)