Fourteen-year-olds frolic at Bangor State Fair

Bangor, Maine …. The bright lights of historic Bass Park provided the perfect backdrop to a display of prowess and longevity as a pair of well-heeled harness racing fourteen-year-olds dazzled at the first session along Maine’s fairground circuit when the ponies took center stage at the Bangor State Fair.

They may be careening through their final seasons at the races, but Pillage And Burn (Cam’s Card Shark) and Archetto Hanover seem intent on giving no quarter to age. Still mixing it up with the younger set and taking the kids to school, their proclivity toward success was on full display on Thursday (July 24) when both warhorses rocketed off the gate with Pillage And Burn (Shawn Thayer) gaining the lead before the 1/8th-pole and with Archetto Hanover (Andy Harrington) breathing fiercely down Thayer’s neck.

A quick opening panel of :28.3 put the rest of the field quickly in line and a stern back-half of :57.3 kept them mostly at bay as Archetto Hanover doggedly stalked Pillage And Burn’s determined pace. Finally duking it out in a match race of sorts  through the storied Bass Park stretch, a mere 3/4-length margin separated the elder statesmen at the wire in a sensationally fleet 1:57.3.

When the dust had settled, it was Pillage And Burn ($13.80) earning his 47th career curtain call as the accomplished son of Cam’s Card Shark paraded for owner/trainer Douglas Beckwith. The win in a seasonal best clocking was his third winners circle session of the season.

PILLAGE AND BURN REPLAY

Archetto Hanover, a hard-hitting son of Bettor’s Delight who is owned and trained by Marianna Monaco, begrudgingly settled for the runner-up placing for the 70th time in his career, a career highlighted by 42 top tallies.

With 89 wins between them and plenty of racing opportunities remaining, the fans along the state-of-Maine circuit seem likely to be treated to this unique brand of the Battle of the Ages well into the fall.

In other Bangor State Fair news, Miss Quality (1:58.1-$4.40) extended her win streak out to five in-a-row with a sterling gate-to-wire performance.

Powering off the car from post seven, she and owner/driver McGwire Sowers created serious air while powering to the quarter in a blazing :28.1. Insistently grabbing the lead just before entering the second turn, the nine-year-old daughter of Quality Western never felt pressure from that point home as she jogged to her eighth win of the season for trainer Autym Sowers.

“She’s a fun little mare” McGwire Sowers remarked in a post-race trackside interview, “She loves her job, she really does”.

Maine’s harness racing circuit continues at First Tracks Cumberland this weekend in a preamble to the reemergence of the Pine Tree State’s fabled fairground circuit. Fair racing rolls into high gear on August 3rd when the Topsham Fair holds the first of five sessions with a 4:00 pm post time.

Bangor Raceway will remain open for simulcast wagering on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule while live harness racing remains on hiatus until a four day fall meet opens on September 3rd.

For those not able to come to the track, wagering and live video for Bangor Raceway, as well as hundreds of harness and thoroughbred racetracks across the world, is available on Hollywood Races at www.hollywoodraces.com.

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

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

by Mike Sweeney, for Bangor Raceway