Yannick Gingras (born August 4, 1979) is a Canadian harness racing driver.[1] 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.[2]
| Yannick Gingras | |
|---|---|
 Gingras in 2023 | |
| Nickname | "The Green Hornet" |
| Born | August 4, 1990 (age 33) Sorel, Quebec, Canada |
| Career wins | 8,934 (as of May 27, 2024) |
| Major racing wins | |
| Nassagaweya Pace (2005) Fan Hanover Stakes (2006) Armbro Flight Stakes (2007, 2013, 2016) Milton Stakes (2008) Gold Cup Invitational Pace (2010) Governor's Cup Stakes (2011) Canadian Pacing Derby (2012) Meadowlands Pace (2012, 2020, 2022) Simcoe Stakes (2012) Adios Pace (2013) Glen Garnsey Memorial Pace (2013) Peter Haughton Memorial Trot (2013, 2015) TVG Free For All Pace (2013) William Wellwood Memorial Stakes (2013, 2014, 2015) Canadian Trotting Classic (2014, 2015, 2023) Hambletonian Oaks (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020) She's A Great Lady Stakes (2014) Three Diamonds Stakes (2014) Elegantimage Stakes (2015) Confederation Cup Pace (2016, 2018, 2024) Roses Are Red Stakes (2016) Prix d'Été (2016) Breeders Crown wins: U.S. Pacing Triple Crown wins: U.S. Trotting Triple Crown wins: Yonkers Trot (2021) | |
| Racing awards | |
| Dan Patch Rising Star Award (2003) Dan Patch Driver of the Year Award (2014, 2017) Leading Driver in wins at Meadowlands (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022) North American Leading Driver by earnings (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023) | |
| Significant horses | |
| A Rocknroll Dance, Father Patrick, Foiled Again, Jk Shesalady, Mission Brief, Tall Dark Stranger, Manchego, Hannelore Hanover, Atlanta | |
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.[3] His six Hambletonian Oaks wins is a stakes record.
Career
Gingras drove in his native Canada until 2001 before moving to Yonkers Raceway in New York. He was immediately successful, winning that fall's driving title. In 2003, he won 426 races to earn the Dan Patch Rising Star Award.[4] He relocated to Meadowlands Racetrack 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,[5] and led all drivers in North America in purse money won in 2014 and 2015. In June 2016 he earned the 6,000th win of his career at Pocono Downs[6] and in August, the driver and trainer combination of Gingras and Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Takter set a record when they won the Hambletonian Oaks together for the third consecutive year.[7] Gingras was named Driver of the Year at the Dan Patch Awards for the second time in 2017.
From 2008-2016, 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, and TVG Free For All Pace.
Personal life
Gingras resides in Allentown, New Jersey. He is married to Vicki Gingras and has a son and two daughters.[2]