HORSEPLOP.COM
General Category => Harness Racing => Topic started by: MCR on January 19, 2024, 08:16:17 PM
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I see Yannick has not driven at the meadowlands yet this year. He is listed on a couple for engblom tomorrow. Why has he not driven at the meadowlands? I see Burke has made him the go to man at Yonkers. Does that mean he will be there full time?
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Who cares???
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Who cares???
tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 He can't drive for anyone but Burke of Takter. Without them he's a .240 driver at best. Burke bats .340 with all drivers. Takter does the same so it's not Yannick making those horses good. He just goes to front doesn't care about anything and then if the horse is good they win and if not oh well. You put David Miller, Scott Zeron, Dexter Dunn or Tetrick first call behind Burke and Takter every year and they would be DOY each and every yr hands down end of discussion and Yannick wouldn't be in top ten of money earners! Bet
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Who cares???
Take it easy on the newbie!! At least his question/response is more intelligent than a few others here. Names available on request. Just ask!!
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There are plenty of others that could be named but yes it is a stupid question and observation. Don't you think he might take a little time off this time of year? What top driver has shown up at M1 other than Miller and Andy McCarthy. For the future Yonkers doesn't even race on Saturdays and there is no way Gingras would switch to YR full time.
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tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 He can't drive for anyone but Burke of Takter. Without them he's a .240 driver at best. Burke bats .340 with all drivers. Takter does the same so it's not Yannick making those horses good. He just goes to front doesn't care about anything and then if the horse is good they win and if not oh well. You put David Miller, Scott Zeron, Dexter Dunn or Tetrick first call behind Burke and Takter every year and they would be DOY each and every yr hands down end of discussion and Yannick wouldn't be in top ten of money earners! Bet
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Not quite true! Years ago, Greg Grismore was terrible driving the Burke stock at Yonkers.
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Grismore hatted his time in NY more than John Rocker riding the #7 Flushing train.
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Grismore hatted his time in NY more than John Rocker riding the #7 Flushing train.
How do you ‘hate’ the opportunity to make very good money and drive the best horses in the country with the highest purses in harness racing?
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Green hornet always on go.
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fellas, its not that hard to figure out
he drove the winners of $15m in 2023, thats a minimum of $750 k earned
him and all the top guys earn between $500-$750 k every year, rinse and repeat
they go like madmen travelling from april to the end of november
they dont need to drive in the winter , a break is required
and they have no fear of losing any major drives right now
lots of good horses, more horses than drivers so no worries
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tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 tmbz1 He can't drive for anyone but Burke of Takter. Without them he's a .240 driver at best. Burke bats .340 with all drivers. Takter does the same so it's not Yannick making those horses good. He just goes to front doesn't care about anything and then if the horse is good they win and if not oh well. You put David Miller, Scott Zeron, Dexter Dunn or Tetrick first call behind Burke and Takter every year and they would be DOY each and every yr hands down end of discussion and Yannick wouldn't be in top ten of money earners! Bet
I have always felt it's the talent of the horse they sit behind that's more important than the talent of the driver. These top tier horses can be driven successfully by most all the professional drivers.
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DRF Harness Digest newsletter has a nice article on Yannick this week.
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There are plenty of others that could be named but yes it is a stupid question and observation. Don't you think he might take a little time off this time of year? What top driver has shown up at M1 other than Miller and Andy McCarthy. For the future Yonkers doesn't even race on Saturdays and there is no way Gingras would switch to YR full time.
Yes you are correct. But in years past Yannick drove nightly at meadowlands. Also if you look at yonkers entries Burke has listed him nightly over Brennan who was the go to at yonkers
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lots of jealous losers living in their moms basement on this site..
yannick one of the best drivers ever.. theres a reason he drives all burke horses..
how god damn dumb and jealous can you be...
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I have always felt it's the talent of the horse they sit behind that's more important than the talent of the driver. These top tier horses can be driven successfully by most all the professional drivers.
The horsepower helps but you gotta earn the right to get out up on the better horses
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lots of jealous losers living in their moms basement on this site..
yannick one of the best drivers ever.. theres a reason he drives all burke horses..
how god damn dumb and jealous can you be...
Are we listing names of the 'basement dwellers'?
Back to the question at hand--He was the fortunate one who got hooked up with Burke before anyone else Matt Kakaley was not happy getting the 2nd string drives in the Burke barn!
IMO, take Gingras off the Burke barn, other hi end barns, what would his UDRS be? .275 would be generous!
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Yeah...one of the horses he drove ...he owns....popped him at 13-1
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He drove 2 a M tonight, he owns a piece of both. Both won. Trained by Engblom so that should be the end of the missing from Big M speculation
As for Monday he owns a piece of one he's driving at Yonkers trained by Burke. Wouldn't be surprised he has some more during the week as he's being listed more as a partial owner lately.
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Are we listing names of the 'basement dwellers'?
Back to the question at hand--He was the fortunate one who got hooked up with Burke before anyone else Matt Kakaley was not happy getting the 2nd string drives in the Burke barn!
IMO, take Gingras off the Burke barn, other hi end barns, what would his UDRS be? .275 would be generous!
If you gamble on east coast racing, you would understand YG
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drivers should not be allowed to own horses
if they are they should not be allowed to drive them and should not be allowed to drive in the race at all
if this is too drastic than it should certainly apply to any and all stake races
its just a bad look for an industry trying to have any credibility
this is in conjunction with my prior statements about trainers being allowed one entry per race
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drivers should not be allowed to own horses
if they are they should not be allowed to drive them and should not be allowed to drive in the race at all
if this is too drastic than it should certainly apply to any and all stake races
its just a bad look for an industry trying to have any credibility
this is in conjunction with my prior statements about trainers being allowed one entry per race
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If a driver owns a horse they must drive that horse. So I guess I don't see the issue. If they couldn't be listed in the program then they would just list a wife or relative
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Are we listing names of the 'basement dwellers'?
Back to the question at hand--He was the fortunate one who got hooked up with Burke before anyone else Matt Kakaley was not happy getting the 2nd string drives in the Burke barn!
IMO, take Gingras off the Burke barn, other hi end barns, what would his UDRS be? .275 would be generous!
Agree 100% - It wasn't his skill that got him in with Burke. They wanted a gunner and he was bold enough to not care how he looked back in the day. This is why he can't win the big ones WHEN he has to drive and think. Unless they go to the front and can march down the highway Yannick doesn't know what to do. Name me one big race that he has WON where he wasn't on the front end before the 1/2?
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fair comment however more likely applicable years ago
now you have to be on or near the front to win so he is just playing the % to win a race
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Don't fault his strategy...he has made a ton lifetime doing it!
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Don't fault his strategy...he has made a ton lifetime doing it!
More often than not with better horses. Would Yannick do as well with 3rd, 4th, 5th, choices etc. if this was the case?? Ask Matt Kakaley! He has 1st hand experience with this!!
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Definitely not, but he has done well enough to get drives with other major stables. He has to be doing something right. I think Yannick doesn't get enough credit. I don't think he's a top 10 all-time, but he is a well above average driver.
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Definitely not, but he has done well enough to get drives with other major stables. He has to be doing something right. I think Yannick doesn't get enough credit. I don't think he's a top 10 all-time, but he is a well above average driver.
With above average stock. Average driver on others everyday stock.
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With above average stock. Average driver on others everyday stock.
Honestly curious. Do you gamble on the races he drives at regularly?
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he gets alot of top stock and gassers
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Honestly curious. Do you gamble on the races he drives at regularly?
And the answer is—-Actually more involved on an owners side of the business rather than a gamblers side.
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And the answer is—-Actually more involved on an owners side of the business rather than a gamblers side.
All well and good. Public gamblers have a vastly different view on the subject than you/owners. A good comparison would be irad Ortiz over on the thoroughbred side
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All well and good. Public gamblers have a vastly different view on the subject than you/owners. A good comparison would be irad Ortiz over on the thoroughbred side
Even owners watch who is bet in the races you are in. Some owners also watch and observe races they are not in to see how the public bets. There is also a a big difference in a 300k pool at the meadowlands with Gingras compared to the total pools you are betting into with Ortiz on the thoroughbred side.
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Even owners watch who is bet in the races you are in. Some owners also watch and observe races they are not in to see how the public bets. There is also a a big difference in a 300k pool at the meadowlands with Gingras compared to the total pools you are betting into with Ortiz on the thoroughbred side.
The comparison was about how people tend to hate/criticize irad despite success. One thing for certain, Yannick is not going to start driving like Steve Smith to appease this critics. That would cost him tons of cash.
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Many years ago i loved betting first time Gringras. He tried on everything & put them in play.
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How and why he "got the job" as first call for Burke doesn't matter. He got it. Minimizing why and how just supports some hypothetical argument that he'd fall of the face of the earth without Burke. So you are now looking at him hypothetically without Burke. If you know what you are looking at, and it's obvious many here don't, try and look at the categories you would rate a driver in. Driver tools, skills, race-driving, strategy, racetrack IQ, etc. Personally, I don't think he rates top 5 in any categories except for making speed, getting a horse really on the bit, etc. He's an excellent gun and run driver. Everybody things that's easy, but it's not. Horses aren't push-button and they don't stop and start. So, all that said, do I think he's a great driver? I don't throw the word great around, so for me personally, all things considered, no, I don't think he's a great driver. Is he a great driver for a certain kind of horse? Absolutely.
Now, if he lost Burke, is he a top 10 driver at the Big M? Without question. Top 5? Initially, yes. Yes, in 2023 with Burke, he still won more races at the Meadowlands than any other driver. He was also # 1 in earnings. Yes, he did that with Burke. We all get that. But, he also won 20% of his races at the Meadowlands. 20%! You don't do that by accident. You aren't a bad driver and win at a 20% clip at throughout an entire Meadowlands meet, Burke or no Burke. You still have to take the lines and drive. Without Burke he is not waking up and becoming a moron who can't drive at all. His driving style will be attractive to plenty of trainers and owners, initially. People will see he's available, will want him, and he would get plenty of business that would put him in the top 5 initially. Now, does he last in the top 5? Long term? No, I don't think so, but it's close. He has longevity. He may grind it out. Hard to say. But, I think, over time, he loses most of the support, his business slows down, and he slowly drops down to mediocrity. Generically, kind of like what happened to Bill Fahy, although there were other factors there. You may be able to find 5 guys who you think are better drivers all-around but they have the longevity and track record Gingras has and that will factor in initially. He's got some excellent stats, achievements, track record, etc., but I do think his accomplishments have overshadowed his skills.
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The top guys like to have some down time & spend time with their families. They make enough money to do so!!
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Agreed. Miller was spent weeks in Florida last year.