The Mohawk handicapper talks about his return to the bike and mic on the Québec circuit régional.

by Melissa Keith

Ghislain Paquet is a well-known harness racing personality in his native Quebec and across Canada. He is host of Passion Courses, a popular French-language harness racing podcast which appears on dedicated Facebook and YouTube channels.

In January, freelance handicapping statistician Gabe Di Paolo determined that Paquet was the Woodbine Mohawk Park racing analyst with the most top-choice winners (846) of 2023.

Every summer, Paquet returns to his roots as a racecaller for the Circuit régional des courses de chevaux du Québec, the fair racing circuit directly responsible for the survival of harness racing in the province where the last pari-mutuel tracks closed in 2009. Although Hippodrome 3R has since been revived with help from investors, the Circuit régional is the beating heart of the Québec industry, and Paquet is its voice.

“I started in the 1990s when I was the announcer at the Hippodrome de Québec racetrack,” Paquet told HRU, adding that handicapping the races was as important as calling the action. “I thought it was important for our fans to have a different way of analyzing races on the microphone.”

Later, his dedication to picking winners in Québec perfectly translated into finding them at Mohawk.

“With my Facebook page Passion Courses, I was already in contact with the director of the Mohawk Park TV show Luke Van Belkom, with whom I had collaborated on a few projects — with him including some translations of ‘Mic’d Up’ videos made in French — and it was at the beginning of the 2020s that the offer to represent French-speaking Québecers in handicapping arrived,” said Paquet.

“I obviously accepted willingly. Winning the 2023 Mohawk handicappers’ competition for the most winners in a year makes me love this feature of helping fans with their betting even more.”

Mohawk bettors and fans may be unaware that Randy Waples is not the only WMP handicapper with perspective from the sulky.

“I started my passion for driving in races in 2001, on a track of the Regional Circuit that no longer exists today, Saint-Sylvère,” said Paquet. “I won my first race in front of none other than our queen of the sulky in Québec, Marie-Claude Auger, who was also in her debut on the track. It was with the mare Marquise De Provence from the Pascal Bérubé stable. Great memories!”

Auger, one of the top drivers at Hippodrome 3R and Rideau Carleton Raceway, has enjoyed success on her rare visits to Mohawk.

On Saturday (Aug. 24), Paquet had two drives at Ayer’s Cliff, a Circuit régional track located in Québec’s Eastern Townships. He called all but the last two races of the 12-race card.

Asked whether driving in pari-mutuel races allows him to better analyze races as a handicapper, there was no clear answer for Paquet.

“Yes and no,” Paquet said. “It certainly helps you to better understand the drivers’ decisions, why he made a certain movement at a certain point in the race, why he made a certain decision, etcetera, but from there to having an advantage over the other handicappers, I don’t think so.”

While politely unwilling to name his favorite Mohawk drivers, Paquet called the Campbellville, ON track’s top 10 consistently “very powerful.”

“On the other hand, I can tell you that I am the biggest supporter of my good old friend ‘LPR,’ Louis-Philippe Roy,” he said. “I was the announcer of his first drives ever in 2008. My friend ‘J-Mac,’ James MacDonald, has impressed me enormously for two years.”

What happened with Paquet’s Aug. 24 drives at Ayer’s Cliff? Alas, less success than his selections that same Saturday night at Mohawk. He finished on top of the handicappers’ standings Aug. 24, with seven top-choice winners and an impressive $12.10 true return on investment, as calculated by Gabe Di Paolo (@noahurstats on Twitter/X).

“I am not proud of my driving at Ayer’s Cliff,” Paquet said. “It can happen. I would like to come back to all that, but it is impossible. On the way to victory with Camealongway [p, 2, 1:52.2s; $99,065], he made a break in the last turn because of me. I should have protected him in the final turn, because the track is very small and the turns are very tight. And for Sports Bettor [p, 5, 1:50.3f; $654,623], I should have taken my time. I had the horse to win. I was disturbed by a small break by the leader when I was first-over at the quarter. I made a bad decision at the half.”

Paquet added, with a laugh, “I had put too much pressure on myself, maybe.”

A June 28 win at Hippodrome 3R with favorite Troublewiththecurv (p, 3, 1:56.4h; $15,377) provided Paquet with his first driving victory since 2021. To date, he has six wins and five place finishes from 31 intermittent starts as an amateur driver since 2001.

“It’s always extremely pleasant to win a race, especially on a professional racetrack where I was an announcer for 10 years before it closed in 2008,” Paquet said. “It’s always an exceptional moment that you experience with your family members, your friends, moments that you can’t forget.

“I would have liked to win in front of the big crowd at Ayer’s Cliff, but it is only a postponement.”

Although some bettors remain skeptical about amateur races at major racetracks, Paquet told HRU he’s seen that handle is not adversely affected when less-experienced drivers take the lines.

“The evidence is there; amateur driver races are often heavily bet on by fans,” Paquet said. “A host of factors must be considered in an analysis of amateur driver races; because they are not professional drivers, that changes the situation. Go to the betting stats on amateur races everywhere, and you will be surprised.”

Yet to drive in Ontario, let alone at industry showplace Mohawk, Paquet admitted he considered it “a dream” to take part in an amateur race there someday.

“I would love the experience, whether it is at Mohawk in the Billings Circuit [i.e. the C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series] or on any Ontario track,” he said. “I strongly encourage tracks to get behind this formula of amateur drivers that brings new fans to our racetracks.”

With another week of racing in full swing at Mohawk, Paquet’s picks can be found alongside those of the track’s better-known driver-handicapper on the simulcast show.

“Having a Hall of Famer like Randy Waples on Mohawk TV is a huge asset to our fans,” Paquet said. “He knows the game like no one else, and he has a great talent for conveying it to us on camera. We’ve met at a big event before, but we haven’t had a chance to talk at length. Randy and Chad [Rozema] on TV as a team is a treat.”

Triple-threat Paquet said he would concentrate on race calling and handicapping ahead of driving right now, but only because he is a professional in the first two occupations.

“I love all three,” he said. “If you forced me to remove one, I would remove the driving in races because of my lack of experience. It’s not that I don’t like it, but the role of announcing and analyzing for me is also a job in addition to a passion, unlike that of driving in races.”

As the 2024 Circuit régional des courses de chevaux du Québec season winds down, Paquet reflected on its relevance to Mohawk and beyond.

“Louis-Philippe Roy has been a 100-per cent Circuit régional student since 2008, just like Samuel Fillion since 2016, who is now climbing the ladder in a great way in Ontario,” Paquet said. “Two great local prides for the CRCCQ.

“Québec is lucky to have this superb school at hand to guide young drivers or trainers who aspire to make a career out of it.”

Paquet added, with a laugh, “For my part, my goal is really not to become a professional driver. Anyway, it’s too late for me.”

There are two more dates this year for CRCCQ racing: Sept. 21 at the Ormstown Fair and the 2024 finals on Oct. 5 at Hippodrome 3R.