by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — The last time Monticello Raceway presented a race exclusively for drivers of Canadian descent — then called the Maple Leaf Pace — Stephane Bouchard was the winner.

Stephane Bouchard

And that certainly was no surprise because the Montreal-native wins plenty of races and since Y2K he is among the winningest drivers in North America. During the 2003 racing season his 656 driving victories were tops on the continent and again this year his 309 wins currently ranks him third on the North American leaderboard.

The third renewal of the race for drivers of Canadian heritage, now called the Victoria Day Pace, will be presented on Monday, May 21, which is Victoria Day in Canada. Victoria Day is the official celebration of the births of both Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II and is a special holiday for Canadians.

Slated as race number six on Monticello Raceway’s afternoon card of May 21, Bouchard drew the morning line favorite, Victory Chant, who’s owned by Woody Hoblizell. A 1:59.3 winner last year, but a bridesmaid in her last two starts, Victory Chant will leave from post position five.

But Bouchard can expect serious competition from Keystone Saturate, who’ll be driven by Jason MacDougall and start from post three. Kay Kimmel’s 7-year-old roan mare will come into the event off two consecutive victories, the fastest a 2:00.2 effort on May 7.

John “Sep” Gilmour will be looking to upset the favorites when he jumps up behind Steve Moore and Charles Smith’s Cruising Thunder that day. Gilmour, a seven-time driving champion at Monticello Raceway, will come into the event with a hot driving hand after he scored a driving triple on May 17, the last Mighty M race program prior to the May 21 card.

Other drivers of Canadian heritage slated to compete in the Victoria Day Pace include Jacques Primeau, Stephane Lareau, Keith Haase, Bruce Borden and Terry Finch.

Also that day Monticello Raceway will honor the memory of Don Karkos, the late paddock security guard who had his eyesight restored in his right eye after a bop on the head from a horse (My Buddy Chimo) he was harnessing one morning just months prior to his passing.

Karkos’ restored eyesight was dubbed the “Monticello Miracle” by the area’s largest daily newspaper.

The Karkos Memorial will be race eight on the 13-race card on Monday.