Four-bagger for Shawn Thayer Wednesday

Bangor, Maine … Four Finger Floyd (Sportswriter) fueled a four-win performance for harness racing driver Shawn Thayer on Wednesday (June 5) as the veteran teamster’s sizzle mirrored the 84-degree late spring heat wave at Bangor Raceway.

After settling mid-pack in the initial shuffle, Thayer aggressively steered Four Finger Floyd (1:55.4-$6.20) from fourth to first as the field rounded the paddock turn. The duo then extended out by three-lengths at the half before accelerating through an eye-popping 28-second third panel to reach the three-quarter pole ten lengths the best, before coasting to the wire, under wraps, as the competition chased distantly for the place.

FOUR FINGER FLOYD REPLAY

Four Finger Floyd, who is trained by Karl Butterfield for owner Jose Cervantes, was the first of two consecutive wins for the Thayer/Butterfield/Cervantes consortium as Late Mail N (1:56.3-$6.00) quickly followed his stablemate into the Bangor Raceway winner’s circle.

Thayer demonstrated expert tempo control as he fired the eleven-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight off the car before lulling the field to the half in a tranquil :59 clip. Intent on delivering Late Mail N to the wire on time, Thayer quickly shifted gears, zipping through a torrid 57.4 back-half en route to posting the scant neck margin in a seasonal best clocking.

LATE MAIL N REPLAY

The two trainer wins elevated Butterfield into a first-place tie with Jeff Deslandes atop the Bangor leaderboard with thirteen seasonal tallies each.

Thayer then parlayed a tricky third-over journey into his third win of the day as he ultimately tipped CBF Star Power (1:59.4-$15.60) three-wide around the final turn, overtaking their hard-working cover (Eleanor Jean-Steven Wilson) by a handy 1/2-length at the wire. The seasonal best clocking represented the second win of the year for the David Crochere trainee.

Thayer garnered grand slam status with the Stanley Whittemore trained, Fear Of Love (1:59.3-$13.80), utilizing a first-over strategy to overcome a decelerating front-end tempo set by Who’s Perfect (Heath Campbell) who managed to sneak in a rare :32 second panel while strolling to the half in 1:01.2. After matching strides up the backstretch, Thayer’s charge collared the leader at the head of the lane before extending out to 2-3/4 length margin at the wire.

Thayer’s four win performance elevated him into third place on the Bangor Raceway leaderboard. His 15 seasonal scores trail current top stick,  Dan Deslandes, by six top-tallies.

Live harness racing is proudly featured at Bangor Raceway throughout the summer season every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) with the Sunday morning matinees going to post bright and early at 11:00 a.m. Simulcast wagering is available daily in the grandstand facility.

For complete information regarding live racing, simulcast wagering, gaming, dining and hotel accommodations at Bangor’s Hollywood Casino and Raceway, please visit the website here.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Mike Sweeney, for Bangor Raceway