Yannick Gingras has seemingly been blessed and cursed all at the same time in his career. Most drivers would be thrilled to have three second-place finishes in the Hambletonian on their records but for the Hall of Famer, that doughnut in the win column looms large and it is something he hopes to erase on Saturday (August 5) when he steers expected favorite Celebrity Bambino in the $1,000,000 trotting classic. “I listen to it every year and I know it is the one race missing,” said Gingras about the Hambletonian. “Of course it would mean a lot.” Gingras’ Hambletonian history boils down to much more than a few seconds in arguably the most important race in harness racing. His 12-race stint in the Hambletonian final began in 2010 when he qualified two horses for the $1.5 million final, but his string of poor luck began the following year and remains unbroken . . . ♦ Get FREE Harness Eye Past Performances for Saturday's Hambletonian Day card ♦ Full-card Picks & Analysis from our insiders ♦ Derick Giwner's Friday full-card analysis ($47,167 Pick 6 Carryover in Race 8) ♦ Derick Giwner's Saturday full-card analysis ♦ Hambletonian and Oaks video analysis with Derick Giwner & Jay Bergman ♦ $125,000 GTD Pick 4 video analysis with Derick Giwner & Matt Rose 2011: Gingras chose to drive Fawkes (10th in final) over Whiskey Tax (2nd in final) after helping both qualify for the big dance. 2012: Little Brown Fox broke as the 6-5 favorite in his Hambletonian elimination with Gingras. 2014: Father Patrick drew post 10 with Gingras driving and broke as the 2-5 favorite. 2015: Gingras drove both elimination winners – Pinkman and Mission Brief. He chose the electric filly Mission Brief and finished second as the 3-5 favorite to Brian Sears behind Pinkman. 2016: Southwind Frank suffered a nose defeat with Gingras to eventual Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder. 2020: Another second for Gingras as his charge Ready For Moni comes up a length short behind 2-5 chalk Ramona Hill. 2021: Gingras qualified Spy Booth (2nd in final) but elected to jump ship for Delayed Hanover and finished fourth. From a glass-half-empty point of view, Gingras may be doomed, but for those that rely on logic, statistically each Hambletonian has an independent outcome and history plays no role. In the here and now, Gingras is feeling good about Celebrity Bambino off a convincing elimination win by nearly two lengths in 1:50 4/5. The pair were able to secure the lead passing the opening quarter in 27 4/5 and never had an anxious moment through fractions of 55 3/5 and 1:23 3/5. “I would think after [Saturday] he’s stamped himself as the favorite, but he’s been great all year, he’s just had one troubled trip after another,” said Gingras. One of those “issues” came two starts back in the Dancer Memorial on July 15 at The Meadowlands. Trainer Ron Burke elected to pull the shoes on Celebrity Bambino as a test for Hambletonian Day and Gingras admits it didn’t work out as planned and forced his hand for how the son of Muscle Hill raced. “The only reason I was conservative is because I almost lost him leaving the gate; he was a little bumpy. He almost ran down by the wire as well,” said Gingras. “That is why we kiboshed the barefoot idea. You try things to make them better. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Now we know better.” ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Gingras, who will turn 44 the day before this year’s Hambletonian, starts from post one as the deserving 2-1 morning-line favorite, an honor the driver feels is deserved. “I honestly thought I had the best horse before the [elimination],” said Gingras. “Of course you have to have the right trip. I don’t think he can park everybody and overpower them to win the race, but he can race on the front or off a helmet. He is probably a little better off a helmet, but as long as I have him in the right spot turning for home he’ll give his best.” The horse Gingras opted off is Point Of Perfect. After starting his career 0-for-18, Point Of Perfect found himself during a month off in June and has since won three of four races – including his Hambletonian elimination in 1:51 2/5 – starting on July 1. “[Point Of Perfect] always had ability. A few times people told Ronnie [Burke] just geld him because he always seemed like he had the ability but not the brains to finish it off. Ronnie always felt that he was going to get there. I give him credit because he is way more patient than I would’ve been. Obviously he has tremendous value as a stud and that is probably why he didn’t geld him,” said Gingras. Point Of Perfect, a son of Walner, will get the services of David Miller in the bike from post five on Saturday. He shares similar ownership to Celebrity Bambino with Burke Racing Stable, J&T Silva Stables and Knox Services listed on both horses. Point Of Perfect is also owned by Hatfield Stables while Celebrity Bambino has Phil Collura as a fourth owner. Trainer Ron Burke has seen his share of heartbreak in the Hambletonian as well. His first start was with the aforementioned Mission Brief in 2015 when she was second. He followed that up with another runner-up finish with Southwind Frank the following year. To make matters much worse, in 2017 his What The Hill actually crossed the wire first but was disqualified and placed ninth for stretch interference. After the impressive feat of even being in the Hambletonian three straight years, Burke has only made it back once in 2020. “Part of that is why I went with David Miller on Point Of Perfect. With David and Yannick we have losses that really hurt and I figured maybe between us we can clean this [expletive] up and take one down,” said Burke when asked about his bad luck in the Hambletonian. “David is my guy. I do really well with him and our personalities tend to match. It is a stressful day and it is good to be on the same plane as your driver, and I do think I will be with them.” While some people would be hesitant to be too confident, especially when history hasn’t gone their way, Burke seemed self-assured that the tide might finally be ready to turn for him in the American trotting classic. “I have a better feel for this one than I’ve ever had. It is mostly because of Bambino, but even last week when they had him ranked tenth [Road to the Hambletonian poll] I was thinking, ‘did you watch his races?’ This horse has been great every start but has just been in bad spots,” said Burke, who added that he would only make equipment adjustments on Point Of Perfect for the final. “Point Of Perfect, I know it better than anyone that I have to find a length somewhere, but it can be found. I’m probably going to pull his shoes because I can get a little more out of him and I think he’s flawless gaited. I can see maybe closing his bridle but that will be a ‘feel’ thing on the day of the race. Celebrity Bambino is going the way we got him. He finished ear plugs in and I’m not messing with him.” The role of second choice in the Hambletonian falls to Oh Well at 7-2. The Marcus Melander trainee came first-over in his elimination to be second behind Point Of Perfect, the fifth time he has finished in the place spot in six starts in 2023. “He’s got a lot of second places this year, but he’s been racing good,” said Melander. “He’s gone (1):50, (1):51 a couple of times. A couple of times, he just got beat by the wire when someone is flying, like with Air Power in the New Jersey Sire Stakes final. It’s been a good year for him even if he’s only won one race so far. He was really good in the Stanley Dancer, and if he gives another effort like that again, like he always does, he should be one of them that could win the race if he draws well.” While the seconditis may be a concern to some, the fact that he’s only been worse than second once is his 14-race career is noteworthy and Melander has a card to play in the final that he hopes will get a bit more out of the SRF Stable-owned son of Muscle Hill. “Everyone will race barefoot if the weather and track are good,” said Melander, referring to not only Oh Well, who will be racing barefoot for the first time in his career, but also his $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks starters Heaven Hanover, Secret Volo and Kayleigh S. Oh Well starts from post two with Tim Tetrick in the bike. Winner’s Bet is sure to attract some pari-mutuel attention after racing wide throughout his elimination while a couple of lengths off Celebrity Bambino, then holding on to be fourth despite starting from post 10. “He sat out there nicely and I could kind of control his speed,” said driver Dexter Dunn, who drives for trainer Domenico Cecere and owners Lindy Farms of Conn and Robert Rudolph. “It wasn’t like he was tired at the end, he was still trotting hard. As long as he comes out of it OK, I think he should be good [in the final].” Winner’s Bet drew post four in the $1,000,000 final and was made the 4-1 third choice. Despite good form and a solid second-place finish behind Celebrity Bambino, French Wine (post eight, 12-1) is a horse that could certainly be lost in the wagering shuffle “He’s been racing good. I put him in play and he followed Celebrity Bambino right through the wire,” said owner/driver Andy Miler, who steers for his wife, trainer Julie Miller. “He’s had kind of a light schedule, we were pointing toward this, and now he’s in the final. Anything can happen. I think he’s a contender in there.” A couple of closers – Osceola (post three, 12-1) and Ghostly Casper (post nine, 10-1) – from the first elimination could attract attention off visually impressive finishes. While gapping in the four-hole most of the mile, Osceola overcame some stretch traffic to split horses with good late trot. Ghostly Casper avoided trouble early in the mile when another horse broke and came home nicely in the final steps from fourth-over. “He’s got high speed. He can fly. And he’s got a big set of lungs; it takes him a long time to get tired usually,” said driver Doug McNair about Osceola, who is trained by his dad Gregg McNair. “If he trots, he’s going to get a big chunk of it in the final, I think.” “He’s had bad luck, all his life,” said trainer Benoit Baillargeon about Ghostly Casper, who picks up Brian Sears in the bike. “He never won last year but made all kinds of money. This year, it’s the same thing. He’s had two or three trips that have been difficult. Again [in his elimination] he got interfered with in the first turn. But he closed a ton of ground. Dave [Miller] was really happy with him. He said to have him the same way for the final. Eventually, he will get his day. You never know. Tactical Approach has finished in the top three in seven of eight starts for trainer Nancy Takter and driver Scott Zeron. Their charge will leave from the dreaded 10-hole and have been tabbed with a 15-1 morning-line. “He’s been good [this year],” said Takter. “I think he’s better kind of off the pace than on the front. He’s been on the front the last couple starts. Unfortunately, he hasn’t drawn really well, so he’s had to do a lot of work and he’s ended up on the front, which isn’t his ideal race.” Perhaps the most disappointing elimination horses were Southwind Coors (post seven, 20-1) and Up Your Deo (post six, 15-1). Both had smooth trips – live cover for the former and a clear three-hole for the latter – but neither had any stretch punch. “I think it may have been the travel [from Canada],” said trainer Matt Bax about the somewhat dull performance from Southwind Coors, who is staying locally and preparing at Mark Ford’s training center in New York. “He was a little worked up a few days ago and now he’s settled right down, so I think [being local] will make a big difference. “He’s a fast horse. He was a length-and-a-quarter from winning that elimination and I was disappointed with his performance, so if he does what I know he can do, he should be right there.” As for Up Your Deo, driver/trainer Ake Svanstedt admitted he thought his charge “should’ve been better” but it has been a struggle for his entire barn over the last few weeks. “We have had some sickness in the barn [previously]. They’re not sick now, but we were not able to train like normal. We just need to train normally again, and then they’re going to be normal,” said Svanstedt. The Hambletonian will be race 12 on a blockbuster 16-race card at The Meadowlands which begins at noon (EDT). The Hambletonian is the anchor of a pair of guaranteed Pick 4 wagers – $100,000 starting in race nine and $125,000 beginning in race 12.