BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Monday, January 7, 2019—Yannick
Gingras was so giddy Yonkers Raceway began its 2019 season Monday night (Jan. 7th),
he popped in and reached a driving milestone.
Career win No.7,000.
It took until the finale and odds-on fave Prologue
($2.90) lasting on the lead to get Monsieur Gingras to the Promised Land, doing
so by a diminishing nose in 1:53.2
Gingras, who began the dozen-race dossier needing
three wins to reach the plateau, made short work of the $7.50 early daily
double, escorting romping public choices Roll with Jeff ($4.80) in the $13,000,
first-race pace (1:56.1) and ABC Muscles Boy ($2.80) in the $10,000,
second-race trot (1:58).
He then forced the rank and file to wait around
until last call before receiving his gold star.
“I’m not a numbers guys in that regard. I had
no idea that the (7,000) number was upcoming until right before Christmas when
someone mentioned it to me.”
The 39-year-old Gingras, a native of Greenfield
Center, PQ, has career earnings in excess of $169 million and more big-money
wins than can listed here without writing this in missive in installments.
“To have it happen it here (Yonkers) where it all
started for me coming down from Canada makes it special,” Gingras said.
Gingras counts his win with Foiled Again in the
2009 final of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series here as one of his
personal highlights.
“I don’t know what else to say about him. He would
get ready to begin his year in the Levy every season…just made for the
half-mile (oval).
“In the last few years, I’ve been concentrating
more on the stakes races,” Gingras said. “I had less drives (1,705) and had
less wins (330) in 2018 than in about 15 years. This season, I’m committing to
overnight racing, Yonkers Mondays and Thursdays, Meadowlands Fridays and
Saturdays.
`“Winning never gets tiresome. As Cat Manzi said to
me, ‘You’re only one win away from happiness.’ “
And the sign. Don’t forget about the sign.
