by Quebec Jockey Club

Trois-Rivieres, PQ — The Hippodrome 3R this Sunday (Sept. 4) will host its richest harness racing program of the 2017 season with more than C$500,000 in purses headlined by eight championship finals of the Quebec-Bred Series. The 2-and 3-year-old trotters and pacers will be on display in the finals of the Breeders Cup and Future Stars Series. The finals culminate four weeks of preliminary round competition with the top eight point earners returning for the finals.

The four Breeders Cup Finals for 3-year-olds each goes for a purse of C$65,000 and the four Future Stars Finals for 2-year-olds each race for a purse of C$55,000. Post time Sunday is 1:30 p.m.

“With a very nice weather forecast for Sunday and more than C$500,000 in purse money,” said Vincent Trudel, general manager at 3R. “I think this will be a super day of racing, plus we will have top drivers Daniel Dube and Sylvain Filion competing in many of the races. Perhaps we might also see a track record or two set.”

Here are the headliners in each of the eight championship finals:

Three-Year-Old Colt Pace – Race 9 – This division will be a real slugfest as it was during the series preliminary rounds. Sports Authority (post two) returns to 3R having competed over the last month in the Ontario Sire Stakes Grassroots contests. Two starts back he took his lifetime mark at Kawartha Downs in 1:51.2. HP Patriote (post four) has the most impressive record this year, winning 10 of his 12 starts this year and comes into the race off a 1:54 record at Rideau Carlton. Mr Mach Jimmy (post five) was last year’s 2-year-old champion and beat Sports Authority at 3R three starts back in 1:56.2.

Three-Year-Old Filly Pace – Race 5 – The entry of HP Sissy (post one) and HP Pandora (post five) are the morning line favorite with HP Sissy the stronger of the two, having a record this year at Mohawk Raceway in 1:54. Wild River Swan (post four) was sharp during the series and two starts back took her lifetime mark at 1:57.2 at Georgian Downs. Miss Babe Delight (post seven) was the series champion last year but drew a tough outside post for the final.

Three-Year-Old Colt Trot – Race 3 – Track record holder and last year’s champion, Wildwild Men (post six) returns to 3R in prime shape, having won the Dream Of Glory final at Hanover Raceway in 1:58.2, plus two legs of the Breeders Cup Series. He will be put to the test against a three-horse entry that includes Holiday Party (post seven), who has seven wins in twelve starts and a record of 1:57, along with Andovers Choice (post four) and Tuscans Memory (post eight).

Three-Year-Old Filly Trot – Race 6 – Carl Duguay’s Y S Suzanne (post six) has been first, second or third in her last five starts, losing two of them in photo finishes with a record of 2:01.2. Y A Jailhouse Jodi (post seven) was an easy winner in her last start in 2:02.4 and gets the driving services of Daniel Dube, while Artemis Duharas (post four) enters the final off two strong second place finishes.

Two-Year-Old Colt Pace – Race 8 – Makasi (post six) has been all the talk, as two weeks ago he became the fastest freshman pacer in track history with his seven-length romp in 1:55.2 on Prix D’Ete Day. He backed that mile up last week with a 1:56.3 victory. Despite being winless in four starts, Majo Lou Beka (post one) has been second or third in his last three starts and last week closed very well against Makasi to be second by only a half-length. Wildriverbumblebee (post five) has yet to finish off the board in his four starts and improves with every race.

Two-Year-Old Filly Pace – Race 2 – The richest off all the 2- and 3-year-olds racing in the finals, Yaris Bayama (post eight) sports C$87,000 in earnings with four wins in just six lifetime starts for trainer Yves Filion. She has a lifetime mark of 1:52.4 at Mohawk Raceway in the Ontario Sire Stakes, is on a three-race winning streak and two starts back rewrote the track record at 3R for fillies with a 1:56.4 triumph. Queen Elsa (post one) is owned, bred and will be driven by Daniel Dube. She was second and third the last two weeks to Yaris Bayama. She has a record of 1:57.1 in a 2-year-olds only race. Kinnderuntouchable (post seven) has won two of her four starts, both in the series.

Two-Year-Old Colt Trot – Race Four – Capteur De Reve (post four) is the fastest in the field, winning last week in 2:01 with an impressive last quarter mile in :29.4 and gets Dube in the sulky for the first time. Bastiano (post six) is also a return winner in 2:03.1 while Kinnder Danerous (post two) has been first, second and third in his four lifetime starts.

Two-Year-Old Filly Trot – This is a non-wagering event to be held between the fifth and sixth races. Due to the entry of Joyce Lavec (post five) and KFB Filante (post two), this is the only non-wagering race on the program. That is because Joyce Lavec has been outstanding, demolishing her competition the last two starts by a total of 44-3/4 lengths. In her last start she broke stride before the start and still came back to score in a romp and has won three of her four starts this year. Taurus P V (post four) has been first, second and third in her last three starts and Muscle Do (post six) has been second in her last two starts.

TRACK NOTES: The championship finals have brought Yonkers Raceway star and Trois-Rivieres native, Daniel Dube back to compete in most of the races on the program along with Mohawk’s leading driver and Quebec native Sylvain Filion.

Saturday’s (Sept. 3) program also features an Open Pace headed by Atomic Million AM and an Open Trot for older horses with the return of track record holder Seeyou Men.

Racing fans are encouraged to arrive early at 3R Sunday for seating as a packed house of 5,000 fans are expected for the richest day of racing at 3R this season.

For a free race program and to view the live race program on the internet, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.