Graffam deals four-of-a-kind at Bangor Raceway

Bangor, Maine – Call it a grand slam, a four-bagger, or four-of-a-kind. Whatever the nomenclature, it generally represents a winning hand, and that’s exactly what harness racing driver Nick Graffam held on Sunday (July 31) at Bangor Raceway.

With six drives listed on the matinee card, Graffam earned top honors with four of his charges with all four winners hailing from the powerful Karl Butterfield roster.

The punters initially dissed Graffam’s chances, sending Tyronebettorsella N (Bettor’s Delight) to the gate at a daunting 13-1 odds, but they were soon licking their wounds after Graffam parlayed a perfect pocket trip to a half-length margin of victory timed in 1:58.2.

The crowd quickly wised up though as they queued to cash $2.60 win tickets after Graffam engineered an insistent gate-to-wire score with the classy mare, Wynnfrith (Ameripan Gigilo) who scored her 55th career victory timed in 1:59.

Somewhere between those two extremes, the Bangor faithful finally settled on a reasonable price, backing Graffam and Sanattle Slew (Santanna Blue Chip) as the 5-2 third choice before marveling at a zippy 1:57 pike route score which keyed a rather generous $410.40 trifecta return on their $2 investment.

Fickle as fans can be though, they seemingly lost faith in the Graffam/Butterfield juggernaut, ignoring J S Peyton (Swan For All) at 7-1 odds in the featured $7,000 Open-2 trotting event.

Leaving confidently from the gate, the tandem never looked back while posting a comfortable 1/2-length margin, gamely holding off a late cavalry charge from the even money favorite Joey Bats (Walter Case Jr), and the second-favored Nicola Hanover (Heath Campbell). The win, timed in a seasonal best 1:58.2, was the sixth top pacing from nine seasonal starts for the 7-year-old veteran high-stepper.

In other Bangor news, there actually were drivers other than Graffam winning races on Sunday as both Heath Campbell and Aaron Hall recorded driving doubles on day. Included in Hall’s tally was a 1:56 score with the millionaire pacer, Lucan Hanover (Western Ideal), who claimed the 61st win of his illustrious career in the fastest mile of the afternoon.

Wednesday (August 3) will mark the closing day of the Bangor summer meeting with post time slated for 3:00 p.m. State of Maine action will then transition to the Topsham Fair which will conduct its meet from August 7 though 13.

Simulcast wagering will remain available at Bangor Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 7:00 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

by Mike Sweeney, for Bangor Raceway