Berube celebrates birthday driving six winners

Perennial Hippodrome 3R (H3R) driving champion, Pascal Berube, celebrated his 52nd birthday Sunday (Sept. 29) in a big way, winning six of the ten races he competed in.

Berube, who hails from Portneuf, Quebec, is well on his way in winning his fifth straight driving title at H3R. He leads 62 to 50 over Marie-Claude Auger. It was the first time this season that anyone has won six races on one card.

One of Berube’s five winners came in the 7th race feature, a $6,000 Open Pace for two-year-old fillies where race favorite Simply The Best (All Bets Off) led from start to finish in a romp by four and one-quarter lengths in 1:58.2. Silver Majesty (Denis St Pierre) was second with Justine Ray (Daniel Laflamme) third.

It was the fourth win this season for Simply The Best, who is trained by Marc-Andre Simoneau for Aurel Harvey Et Fils, Inc. and paid $4.90 to win.

Trainer Sophie Messier of Drummondville, Que sent out her first pari-mutuel winner when Indigo Seelster (Camluck) won the 3rd race pace in 1:58.2.

Track Notes: Marc-Andre Simoneau had a training double and is now tied with David Pilon for first place in the training standings, each with 23 wins. Next week H3R will have a special Saturday afternoon race program starting at 1:00 pm featuring the finals of the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit. Then on Sunday, it’s the final stakes day of the 2024 season at H3R, featuring the $60,000 Brian Paquet Memorial Invitational Trot and Pace plus the $30,000 Lucien Bombardier Memorial for two-year-old pacing fillies. Post time Sunday is 12:00 noon.