| Horse Race: | Prix d'Été |
| Location: | Trois-Rivières, Quebec Canada |
| Inaugurated: | 1966 |
| Race Type: | Harness race for standardbred pacers |
| Website: | hippodrome3r.ca |
| Distance: | 1 mile (1,609 metres or 8 furlongs) |
| Surface: | Dirt |
| Track: | Hippodrome 3R http://www.clubjockeyduquebec.com/hippodrome3r/en/ |
| Qualification: | 4yo pacers |
| Purse: | $500,000 (2019) |
Prix d'Été (English: Summer Classic) is a horse racing event for four-year-old Standardbred pacers held annually in Canada, at Hippodrome 3R of Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
This event was held for the first time in 1966 under the name of Prix d'Automne (Autumn Classic) at the now defunct Blue Bonnets Raceway in Montreal. Run over a distance of one mile on a 5/8 mile oval track, the race was open to pacers age four and older. A $50,000 purse made it the richest harness race at that time in Canadian history. In 1967 the race was renamed the L'Amble du Centenaire (Centennial Pace) in honor of Canada's 100th anniversary and made open to pacers age three and older. In 1968 it became the Prix d'Été and in 1971 was modified to a stake race for three-year-old pacers.[1]
The Prix d'Été was one of the top harness races in North America until 1992. The 1993 edition had to be cancelled due to a five-month strike action by horsemen. Deemed as no longer viable, the owners decided to close the track but in 1995 a municipal government corporation, Le Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), purchased the track and renamed it Hippodrome de Montréal. Taken over and operated by the provincial government agency SONACC (Société nationale du cheval de course), but eventually withdrew its support and placed their operating company under bankruptcy protection on October 13, 2009, and permanently closed the facility.[2]
The Prix d'Été was not held again until being revived in 2014 at Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivières as a race for four-year-olds. With a purse of $500,000 in 2019, it became the most remunerative race in North America for four-year-old pacers.[3]
Most wins by a driver:
Most wins by a trainer:
Stakes record:
| Year | Winner | Age | Driver | Trainer | Owner | Time | Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Rockin Ron | 4 | Burke Racing Stable LLC | 1:52 0/0 | $200,000 | ||
| 2015 | All Bets Off | 4 | Matt Kakaley | Ron Burke | Burke Racing Stable LLC | 1:50 3/5 | $200,000 |
| 2014 | Sunfire Blue Chip | 4 | Yannick Gingras | Christina Takter, Brixton Medical AB, et al. | 1:50 3/5 | $200,000 | |
| 1993 | - 2013 | align=center colspan=9 | Race not held | ||||
| 1992 | Direct Flight | 3 | Kelvin Harrison | Joseph Alflen | 1:52 1/5 | $307,400 | |
| 1991 | 3 | Richard Silverman | Jerry Silverman | Alnoff Stable & Val D'Or Farms | 1:51 2/5 | $603,500 | |
| 1990 | 3 | Larry Remmen | Uptown Stable | 1:53 1/5 | $663,500 | ||
| 1989 | Goalie Jeff | 3 | Tom Artandi | Centre Ice Stable | 1:52 1/5 | $632,500 | |
| 1988 | Matt's Scooter | 3 | Michel Lachance | Harry J. Poulton | Gordon & Illa Rumpel, Charles Juravinski | 1:54 4/5 | $582,000 |
| 1987 | Frugal Gourmet | 3 | Trevor Ritchie | Blair Burgess | Excellent Stable | 1:53 3/5 | $548,000 |
| 1986 | Armbro Emerson | 3 | Walter Whelan | Brian Burton | Ed Weisz & Light Heavy Weight Stable | 1:56 0/0 | $527,500 |
| 1985 | 3 | Tom Harmer | Tom Harmer | Ciara Stable & Charles Day | 1:53 2/5 | $358,000 | |
| 1984 | Butler BG | 3 | Ted Wing | Camilla Stanfield | Lawrence Cadish | 1:53 4/5 | $411,500 |
| 1983 | 3 | Ron Waples, Pointsetta Stables, Grants Direct Stables | 1:54 0/0 | $411,500 | |||
| 1982 | 3 | Pat Crowe | Pat Crowe | Norman Clements & Norman Faulkner | 1:55 1/5 | $377,000 | |
| 1981 | Seahawk Hanover | 3 | Ben Webster | Samuel "Skip" Lewis | Dave Harris, Samuel Lewis, et al. | 1:55 3/5 | $226,100 |
| 1980 | 3 | Clint Galbraith | Niatross Syndicate | 1:53 4/5 | $161,650 | ||
| 1979 | 3 | Louis Meittinis | Solomon Katz, S A J & Alterman Stables | 1:54 0/0 | $181,150 | ||
| 1978 | 3 | Glen Garnsey | L. Keith Bulen & Shirley A. Mitchell | 1:55 4/5 | $150,750 | ||
| 1977 | 3 | H. "Bucky" Norris | 1:54 3/5 | $154,750 | |||
| 1976 | Precious Fella | 3 | Gary Cameron | Oscar & Michael Kimmelman, et al. | 1:56 4/5 | $163,700 | |
| 1975 | Albert's Star | 3 | Keith Waples | 1:58 0/0 | $140,000 | ||
| 1974 | 3 | Peter Haughton | 1:57 4/5 | $150,000 | |||
| 1973 | Armbro Nadir | 3 | Nelson White | Nelson White | Dr. Donald Davis | 1:56 1/5 | $130,000 |
| 1972 | 3 | 1:58 2/5 | $100,000 | ||||
| 1971 | 3 | Stanley Dancer | Amicable Stable | 1:57 2/5 | $75,000 | ||
| 1970 | 4 | Billy Haughton | Thomas W. Murphy, Jr. | 1:57 2/5 | $75,000 | ||
| 1969 | align=center colspan=7 | Race not held | |||||
| 1968 | 5 | Norman "Chris" Boring | Leon Boring | Richard Oldfield | 1:58 0/0 | $50,000 | |
| 1967 | 3 | Billy Haughton | Billy Haughton | Farmstead Acres Farm | 1:57 1/5 | $50,000 | |
| 1966 | 4 | Frank Ervin | Richard Downing | 1:59 0/0 | $50,000 | ||