Hat trick for Drew Campbell

Bangor, Maine … Drew Campbell held the hot hand at Bangor Raceway on Wednesday (April 30), scoring three wins over the eight-race program while dominating the harness racing action in both halves of the early Daily Double.

Creepin (2:00, $5.40) provided Campbell his first winning opportunity as trainer Neal Grass sent the 11-year-old Mach Three gelding to his fourth start of the season. Campbell confidently steered his charge into a first-over firestorm, steadily gaining ground on the front-running At Ease Hanover (Walter Case, Jr) through a fairly evenly-rated 59.4 back-half. Gaining the lead at the head of the stretch, Campbell kept his charge brave all the way to the wire while withstanding a determined late bid from Hula’s Boy (Heath Campbell) to post the 3/4-length margin.

CREEPIN REPLAY

The win was the first of the season for Creepin and one of two training wins on the card for Grass who also scored with Golden Tree (Nick Graffam) later in the day.

Campbell quickly revisited the historic Bass Park winners circle in the second race of the day, zooming gate-to-wire behind Sortie Hanover (2:01.2), a Plainridge Racecourse invader who made his first start from new trainer Aaron Hall’s stable a winning one. The half-length triumph marked the 45th victory lap for the eleven-year-old Donato Hanover trotter.

SORTIE HANOVER REPLAY

The Drew Campbell Daily Double returned $10.80 for the two-dollar wager.

Campbell capped his hat trick with yet another of his patented “down the highway” ventures, sending Fade To Gold (1:59.2, $2.60) smartly from the gate en route to a four-length romp for trainer Autumn Robinson.

FADE TO GOLD REPLAY

The win was the second in-a-row for the ten-year-old mare and the first of three training wins on the program for Robinson who later scored with Readyfortheladies and Mr Fantasy, both teamed by McGwire Sowers.

The three wins elevated Campbell, the leading dash winner at Bangor Raceway in 2024, once again to the top of the leaderboard after the conclusion of the first week of action at the Queen City meeting. His four wins eclipse both Aaron Hall and Kevin Switzer, Jr who reside in a tie for runner-up honors with three wins each.

Autumn Robinson heads all conditioners thus far at the meet, boasting four wins from her roster and leading Neal Grass by a solitary score.

Live harness racing will be showcased at Bangor Raceway throughout the mid-summer season on Wednesday afternoons with a 3:00 pm post time, and with the popular Sunday matinees going to post at 12:10 pm.

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