Trois Rivieres: Filion, Roy return for Quebec championships

Two of the best drivers in North America, Sylvain Filion and Louis-Philippe Roy, are returning to the Hippodrome 3R this Sunday to compete in the C$480,000 Quebec Championship Finals.

It is Super Sunday in Quebec with finals being held for the trotters and pacers in the Breeders Trophy Series and Future Stars Series. The are four Breeders Trophy Finals for the 3-year-old's, each with a purse of C$65,000 and four Future Stars Finals for the 2-year-old's, each with a purse of C$55,000. Super Sunday is the richest day of horse racing in all of Quebec.

The Hippodrome 3R is where both Sylvain Filion and Louis-Philippe Roy began their harness racing careers. Both drivers are now standouts on the WEG (Woodbine Entertainment Group) Circuit in Ontario.

"I will be there next Sunday for sure," said Filion, who had raced earlier this month at H3R, driving his father's (Yves Filion) horses in the Future Stars Series. "I always like coming back to drive at H3R."

Yves Filion and his Bayama Farms have two 2-year-old pacing colts in Future Stars Final, Cadillac Bayama and Colonel Bayama. Cadillac Bayama will be driven by Filion. Bayama Farms will also have Celia Bayama in the Future Stars Final for the fillies.

Filion has had five drives at H3R this season, with three wins, one second and one third-place finish. His Universal Driving Rating (batting average) UDR is an impressive .600.

For Roy, it will be the first time that he has driven at H3R this season.

"It will be nice to see my friends from the track," LPR said. "And I also planned to spend the night in Quebec City with my parents after the races.

"My good friend Francis Richard asked me if I wanted to come and drive all of his horses in the finals," LPR explained. "So, I thought it would be a good time to plan a little trip in Quebec, as I didn't have the chance to go back since Christmas with everything that happened with the Covid."

Both Filion and Roy know they are coming back to their home track and facing some tough drivers. The meets leader, Pascal Berube, sports a UDR of .401, Stephane Gendron has a UDR of .400 and Stephane Brosseau, Pierre-Luc Roy (LPR's older brother), Francis Picard, Steeven Genois and the youngster, Samuel Fillion (LPR's brother-in-law), are all top-class drivers.

The draw for post positions for Super Sunday in Quebec is Wednesday afternoon. Post time Sunday is 1:00 pm. For more information, visit www.hippodrome3R.ca.

-edited release (Quebec Jockey Club)