500 driving wins for Aaron Hall

Bangor, Maine … Aaron Hall recorded his 500th career harness racing driving victory at Bangor Raceway on Wednesday (5-24) in much the same fashion as he began his piloting vocation more than a decade ago, teaming winners for his father, trainer Craig Hall.

Hall notched the milestone score with Generation Sissie (Artist’s View, 2:00.4 – $4.60) a relative newcomer to the family roster who had cut her teeth racing along the New York fair circuit and most recently Saratoga Raceway.

The duo were shuffled back to third in the early furlongs after getting away second from the gate, a happenstance which dictated a first over strategy as the field rambled up the backstretch the second time around. The gritty mare responded kindly to the aggressive maneuver, grinding out a determined stretch run to measure the wire by the margin of a neck, while establishing a brand new lifetime mark, recording only the second win of her career.

The win was one of two on the program for the father and son team of Aaron and Craig Hall who also grabbed top honors in the afternoon’s finale with Mr Blissfull (Blissfull Hall, 2:00 – $2.60).

In other Bangor news, trainer Cain MacKenzie and driver Kevin Switzer, Jr teamed up to record two wins each on the afternoon program, including a 1:54 epic with the four-year-old Maine-bred, Ranaldi (Western Maverick), who registered the fastest mile thus far at the Bangor Raceway meeting.

Driver Nick Graffam and trainer Benson Merrill also joined the hit parade on Wednesday, individually scoring two wins each during the eleven-race card

Bangor Raceway will proudly feature live harness racing on a twice a week schedule through the mid-summer season with programs scheduled on Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) and the the popular Sunday matinees getting underway at 12:15 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

by Michael Sweeney, for Bangor Raceway