LPR on whirlwind driving tour this weekend

Three-time O’Brien Award winning harness racing driver Louis-Philippe Roy (LPR) is going on a whirlwind driving tour this weekend that will feature him competing at four tracks in just three days.

LPR is starting out driving at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Toronto Friday evening, then jet-setting to Yonkers Raceway in New York for the $1 million International Trot Saturday afternoon. Then it’s off to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio Sire Stakes Night of Champions at Scioto Downs.

With no rest for the weary, LPR will then head from Ohio to his home province of Quebec where Sunday afternoon he will drive in 11 of the 12 races with seven drives in the Quebec Championship Finals.

“It is a lot of traveling,” LPR said. “But for big racing events. I only hope we can do well in all of them.”

LPR will spend a lot more time flying to each location then driving. His trip to Yonkers Raceway Saturday afternoon is just for one drive scheduled, but it is a big one. He will be driving Fashion Frenzie (Archangel) in the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot. The duo is representing Canada in the major Grand Circuit event and start from post four.

This year Fashion Frenzie sports four wins in seven starts, the fastest a lifetime mark of 1:50.4 at Mohawk Park. They will be going against many of the best trotters from around the world.

Then it’s off to Scioto Downs where LPR has just two drives, but both are headliner events, each for a purse of $250,000. His first drive is with Lovedbythemasses (Muscle Mass, post 9) in the Charlie Hill Memorial Trot and then he will drive Tattoo Artist (post 6) in the Jim Ewart Memorial Pace.

It was just last week that LPR and Tattoo Artist teamed up to win the $615,000 Canadian Pacing Derby in 1:47.4 and are the 2-1 favorites in the Ewart Memorial.

Then it’s flying from Ohio to Trois-Rivieres in Quebec for Super Sunday at the Hippodrome 3R. It was just last year at this same event that LPR won five races on the card, four of them championship finals. He has his work cut out for him Sunday afternoon with 11 drives in the 12 races that start at 12:00 noon.

“I did very well last year,” LPR said. “I don’t think so for this year, with most of my drives in the finals, it seems like I will need a lot to happen to win. I hope I can get good shares of the purses with all of them.

“I think Ronda Du Lac is my best shot among them all,” LPR added. “I hope she can get me a win so I can touch one of the eight trophies.”

This year LPR has three drives in the finals aboard horses that he bred himself with his brother, Pierre Luc Roy, who has been driving them in the series. They are last year’s champion two-year-old filly pacer, Pocahontas Du Lac (race 5, post 6) and two two-year-old pacers, Olaf Du Lac (race 2, post 6) and Ronda Du Lac (race 9, post 3).

“It will be exciting to drive three of them in the finals,” LPR said. “Last year we weren’t necessarily expecting a win with Pocahontas Du Lac, but she stepped up that day and made us really happy, I wish she can do the same Sunday.

“I love coming back and driving at H3R,” LPR said. “It’s a home coming, and the race fans crowd are right up on the fence and cheer for you. It’s a wonderful experience.”

by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink