Hippodrome 3R ready for opening day
At 11h45, on May 5, 2024 • By STEVE WOLF
Coming off their best season of harness racing last year with an impressive 40% increase in total handle wagering over 2022, the Hippodrome 3R (H3R) in Quebec is ready to kick-off the 2024 season on Sunday, May 5.
There are ten races set to start at 12:00 noon Sunday afternoon at H3R. All of the races are full fields of 8 or 9 starters.
Leading driver Pascal Berube will be gunning for an unprecedented fifth straight driving title at H3R. He has a horse to drive in nine of the ten races Sunday.
“In my case I am never confident of winning a championship because the season is still full of unforeseen events,” said Pascal Berube. “Because of the horses we have to drive and the shape they are in as well as the class in which they race.
“The opening day is always pleasant because the people in the paddock are really happy to be there,” Berube added.
“Because they have been waiting for this moment for weeks and even months. So, people are excited and it’s fun.”
With the start of a new race meet, horses are entered from other tracks and off of qualifying races, so it is always difficult to handicap most of the races. This is especially the case with the 8th race Preferred Pace feature Sunday.
There are nine horses in the race and the morning line favorite is Three Somewhere (Lyonssomewhere) from post seven for driver Maxime Dinelle. The five-year-old gelding showed true grit in his last qualifying race at H3R, grinding it out first-over and losing by just a head.
The entry of Born A Rebel (Betterthancheddar) in post 1 and Celia Bayama (Bettors Delight) in post 5 are from the Jack Reid Stable will be tough to contend with. They are both coming off strong qualifying races at H3R. Born A Rebel will be driven by Stephane Brosseau while Celia Bayama will have Jessica Turenne in the sulky.
Starting from the second tier in post 9 is Sports Bettor (Sportswriter) for driver William Roy. This 12-year-old is the class of the field with $662,000 in career earnings. Last year he won nine times and was in the inaugural $60,000 Brian Paquet Memorial at H3R.
Other contenders include Proberts Legacy (Dali) in post five for driver Pascal Berube. This one has been racing at Rideau Carleton as has Thedoginthefight (Sweet Lou) from post three for driver Jocelyn Gendron and both horses should be ready for big efforts.
Post time is 12:00 noon on Sunday.
