Yannick Gingras (born August 4, 1979) is a Canadian

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

driver. He is statistically one of the top drivers of all time with more than 8,000 wins and $230 million in earnings. He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2022. Gingras has won 24 Breeders Crown trophies, the sixth-most in history. As of May 2024, he is fourth on the all-time career earnings list. His six Hambletonian Oaks wins is a stakes record.

Career

Gingras drove in his native Canada until 2001 before moving to

Yonkers Raceway Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, Ne ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was immediately successful, winning that fall's driving title. In 2003, he won 426 races to earn the Dan Patch Rising Star Award. He relocated to

Meadowlands Racetrack The Meadowlands Racetrack (currently referred to as Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment) is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both tho ...

in 2004, which he continues to maintain as his home base. In 2014, Yannick Gingras was voted American harness racing's

Dan Patch Driver of the Year Award Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

, and led all drivers in

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in purse money won in 2014 and 2015. In June 2016 he earned the 6,000th win of his career at Pocono Downs and in August, the driver and trainer combination of Gingras and

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee Jimmy Takter set a record when they won the Hambletonian Oaks together for the third consecutive year. Gingras was named Driver of the Year at the Dan Patch Awards for the second time in 2017. From 2008 to 2016, Gingras was the main driver of Foiled Again, the highest-earning horse in harness racing history. He drove him in 192 of the horse's 331 lifetime starts, including wins in the Breeders Crown Open Pace,

Canadian Pacing Derby The Canadian Pacing Derby is a race for three-year-old Standardbred Free For All pacers run at a distance of one mile at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario. Historical race events The Canadian Pacing Derby was first run on August 1 ...

, and TVG Free For All Pace. Gingras was the regular driver of Atlanta, widely regarded as one of the greatest trotting mares ever, from 2019 to 2022. He drove her to her world record-setting time of 1:49 at

The Red Mile The Red Mile is a horse racing track located in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. The track hosts harness racing, a type of horse racing in which the horses must pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies while racing. It is one of harness racing's ...

in 2021 and to wins against male opponents in the

Maple Leaf Trot The Maple Leaf Trot is a harness race for Standardbred trotters three years of age and older. It is run at a distance of one mile at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville, Ontario. Locations *Thorncliffe Park Raceway : (1950-1953) * Old Woodbine / ...

and Graduate Series Final, among others. In 2024, Gingras won the Hambletonian for the first time, driving favourite Karl to victory. On August 16, 2024, Gingras won 10 of 14 races on the card at

Harrah's Philadelphia Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack is a harness racing track and casino (a racino) on the Chester, Pennsylvania waterfront. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. History The track was built on the site ...

, tying that track's record for driver wins in one race card.Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association August 17, 2024 article titled "Yannick Gingras Wins Ten Races, Equals Philly Record"
Retrieved August 19, 2024

Personal life

Gingras was born in

Greenfield Park, Quebec Greenfield Park is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is currently a Boroughs of Longueuil, borough of the city of Longueuil. It covers an area of , with a population of 16,733 at the Canada ...

, grew up in Sorel, Quebec, and resides in

Allentown, New Jersey Allentown is a borough located in western Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, bordering adjacent Mercer County. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,734, a decrease of 94 (−5.1%) from the 2010 c ...

. He is married to Vicki Gingras and has a son and two daughters.

References

1979 births Canadian harness racing drivers American harness racing drivers American Champion harness racing drivers Dan Patch Award winners Sportspeople from Quebec Sportspeople from New Jersey Canadian emigrants to the United States Living people {{Canada-sport-bio-stub