by Ashley Mayotte, WEG communications

Campbellville, ON — Drivers Scott Zeron and Phil Hudon are pumped and ready for the return of Standardbred racing to Mohawk this Thursday evening (May 19). The upcoming 98-day meet is the highlight of the Standardbred racing calendar on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit.

Zeron, one of racing’s up-and-coming stars, finished sixth on the 2011 Woodbine driver leaderdboard with a record of 45-43-44 in 356 starts with C$805,545 in purses.

Zeron returns to the Campbellville oval with 10 drives during the opener and he cannot wait to get out on the track.

“I am definitely excited,” the Oakville resident said. “Mohawk suits my driving style, where you can stalk the pray and come from behind, so that’s what I like, a quarter-mile stretch where everyone’s got a shot.

“I don’t really like leaving with every horse that I drive. I kind of like taking them off the gate and saving them for the last quarter,” explained Zeron. “At Woodbine it’s really tough if you’re sitting near the back around that last turn, you don’t have a good shot at catching the field, but at Mohawk, it really works in your favor that way.”

When racing at Mohawk, the 21-year-old driver gets a rush when he looks over to the grandstand.

“I like the fans being right up against the rail, cheering,” said Zeron. “You can see them all right there. Everybody is up close and enjoying the entertainment.”

Mohawk is where Zeron spent a lot of time as child with his father, Rick, who has a stable located on the backstretch. The track will always have a special place in his heart.

“I’ve had a lot of good memories here,” Zeron said. “I’ve had some pretty big wins and I’m hoping that it will be a good year again this year.”

Hudon, who had a record of 31-27-30 in 322 starts with C$580,880 in purses during the 2011 Woodbine meet, shares in the excitement about returning to Mohawk for the highly anticipated upcoming stakes season.

“It’s good stakes racing,” he stated. “You get to see all the best horses in North America race at Mohawk, so that’s exciting on its own.”

Hudon hopes to win one of the major stakes events of the summer meet, the C$1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup with Dan Patch and O’Brien Award winner Big Jim.

When the Rockwood resident hits the track Thursday he will be using a different strategy.

“I think you can be a lot more patient,” Hudon said. “You seem to be able to gain a lot more around the last turn. Woodbine you have to be up near the front.”

Just as drivers need to adjust their game plans when moving to a different track, Hudon thinks that handicappers should as well.

“The horses from off the pace, who show good last quarters at Woodbine, will be really good at Mohawk, because they finish better and they have more turn to work with. That’s part of the key to handicapping Mohawk’s races,” he explained.

With a 10-race program, Mohawk will officially kick off its summer meet on Thursday, May 19, with a first race post of 7:10 p.m.