83-year-old driver wins another

CUMBERLAND, ME – Proving that last month’s first win of the harness racing season was no fluke, 83-year-old Bob Nadeau went three-wide down the backside to capture the $3,500 Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) on Saturday (Dec. 18) with his trusty steed Putnam’s Storm.

A concrete salesman by trade, the veteran owner/trainer/driver has been working with Standardbreds since the 1960s.  During Saturday’s race Nadeau observed the front-end horses starting to tire and put his charge in the center of the track and won by a neck in 2:06.2 on a track rated ‘heavy.’

Several leaders took a shot at the title, with club president Joe Burke the first to leave with Silver Shooter into a 31.1 first quarter, but ultimately finished second.  Past the 3/8 pole, Adam Gray urged 14-year-old Three New Dawns to the front and continued to set the tempo.  On top by two at the head of the stretch, Gray found himself in a swarm of late closers and had to settle for third.

Putnam’s Storm paid $20.20 to win the MADC  ‘Group C’ event, which was the 36^th victory of his 11-year racing career.

PUTNAM’S STORM REPLAY

The $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club ‘Group B’ event witnessed the triumphant return of local favorite Todd Whitney in the bike, also using a three-wide backside move to capture his division with Baywood Shadow.

MADC points leader Benson Merrill took control from the start with 3-year-old Bettor Attitude, posting a 29.3 opening stanza.  Series newcomer Brewster Burns was first over past a 1:01.4 half, poking a head in front while parked to the three-quarters in 1:32.4.  Whitney and Baywood Shadow took the opportunity to pounce while heading into the final turn.  The wagering favorite prevailed by an open length in 2:05.3 on the heavy track.

Owned and trained by Chris Dubois, Baywood Shadow paid $5.40 to win.  Rockaholic (Dakota Jackson) finished second; Meetmeatthedance (Joe Burke) was third.

BAYWOOD SHADOW REPLAY

As always, the Maine Amateur Driving Club is sponsored by the nice folks at the North Yarmouth Blue Seal Feed Store and the Windham Blue Seal Feed Store, with leadership and support from Aimee Nichols, their dedicated territory sales manager.

Mike Stevenson had two wins on the program, putting him at 1,999 victories lifetime.  Leading drivers Bruce Ranger and Drew Campbell continued their cat and mouse game, each with a win apiece, and are still separated by just one win in the driver standings.

 Racing resumes Monday (Dec. 20) which is postponement of the Sunday (Dec. 19) program, post time is 11:00 a.m.  The live cards continue on Wednesday (Dec. 22), which is the date of the finals for the $10,000 Rick Cushing Memorial and the $15,000 Fred Nichols Memorial Late Closers, and on Christmas Eve, Friday (Dec. 24).

The Winter Festival extended pari-mutuel meeting continues with live harness racing several days each week through December 31, 2021, which is also the date of our special retirement ceremonies for 14-year-old Standardbred horses.

For more information, go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com.

For full race results, click here.

by Chris Tully, for First Track’s Cumberland