Stephane Brosseau emerged victorious in the 2024 Quebec/Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship (QEORDC), sponsored by Standardbred Canada, held at Hippodrome 3R on Sunday, June 2. His stellar performance secured him a spot in the upcoming National Driving Championship (NDC), which will take place next month at the Trois-Rivières racetrack.
With a total of 67 points, Brosseau clinched the top position on the leaderboard. Robert Shepherd trailed closely behind, finishing just two points shy of Brosseau, and will also advance to the NDC on July 5.
These top two contenders from the regional event complete the line-up of drivers for the NDC. They will join defending champion Doug McNair, leaders of the Atlantic Regional Driving Championship Redmond Doucet and David Dowling, qualifiers from the Ontario Regional Driving Championship Tyler Borth and James MacDonald, as well as representatives from the Western Regional Driving Championship Phil Giesbrecht and Mike Hennessy. The ultimate winner of the NDC will go on to represent Canada at the 2025 World Driving Championship in New Zealand.
At 54 years old, Brosseau brings a wealth of experience to the upcoming National Driving Championship (NDC). Having previously secured the runner-up position in 2018 at Grand River Raceway, the seasoned horseman from L'Assomption, Que. is eager to enhance his performance on his home turf.
"I'm very excited to drive against all these good drivers," said Brosseau, who has driven winners of 3,816 races in his career. "And you know, as you said, I've been there before and it's a very nice thing to live. I'm happy to represent Three Rivers and being at the place I've been for, I don't know, 25 years, 30 years. At my age, I know there's not much coming up after, so I'm trying to enjoy it inch by inch."
Despite initial concerns regarding the post-draw for his drafted lineup, Brosseau demonstrated his driving prowess. His horses delivered strong performances, and a stroke of luck favoured him along the way.
"It's always the horses at the end there that decide if it's going good or not," said a humble Brosseau, whose QEORDC highlights included a pair of winners and two second-place finishes. "You can drive well, but it doesn't mean the horse is going to respond like you think."
Throughout the competition, Brosseau remained a strong contender for the title. Despite narrowly missing victory in the opening leg with a 26-1 shot Betonawheeln, he quickly positioned himself as a front-runner, trailing leader Guy Gagnon by just one point at the halfway mark. Brosseau surged ahead in the fourth leg, clinching victory with the Nicole Gagne-trained pacing mare Better Kissthe Men ($4.10) in 1:57.2.