Luc Ouellette makes his initial Yonkers Raceway appearance in nearly nine years
Saturday night, driving early solid choice Strand Hanover from post position
No. 4 in the fourth race--the first of five, $50,000 divisions of the George
Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series.
"I'm good friends with one of the co-owners (Aaron Waxman of Uncirculated
Stable)," Ouellette said. "The horse has a chance to make the final
of the series (currently in 11th place), and he was concerned Brian (Sears, who
drove Strand Hanover in his opening-leg win) might pick off of him, so he asked
me to come down.
"I know this horse well," Ouellette said of the 6-year-old,
Ontario-sired son of Modern Art. "In fact, I'd driven him several times
and suggested the new owners buy him.” They did, for $70,000 last August.
"He's not on the same level as some of the others in the series, but I
thought he was worth the money, and he's turned out to be
so.”
The 46-year-old Ouellette first came into prominence in Westchester, leading
Yonkers' drivers in wins for three consecutive seasons (1993-95). A star on
both sides of the border, he has compiled career numbers of 8,455 victories and
more than $127.5 million in purses.
According to the U.S. Trotting Association stat meister, David Carr,
Ouellette's last drive here was July 26, 2003, and it turned out--for him
(Ouellette, not Carr)--to be a memorable one for all the wrong reasons.
Ouellette crossed the line first with The Globe in the $273,984 final of the
Art Rooney Pace, but was set down to second (behind No Pan Intended) after his
entrymate, Brooklyn Hanover, was ruled to have interfered with the put-up
winner in the lane.
"I'm looking forward to (coming back)," Ouellette said. "I've
always enjoyed Yonkers, and it's going to be fun to see some people I haven't
seen in a while.
"So far, all I've committed to is a quick trip down and back, but we're
going to see what happens. There's another round after this, and if he does
make the final, then I could turn into a Saturday night regular.
"I'm just glad I have a current New York State
license."
Both the Levy and Blue Chip Matchmaker series offer five preliminary legs.
Finals are scheduled for Saturday night, Apr. 28, and feature purses of
$455,000 (Levy) and $297,000 (Matchmaker), respectively.
Complete series standings are available at http://www.yonkersraceway.com/uploadedFiles/2012levystandings.pdf
and http://www.yonkersraceway.com/uploadedFiles/2012matchmakerstandings.pdf
