Heinikin Bythebay wins the Fred Nichols Invitational

Bangor, Maine …. Heinikin Bythebay (Southwind Lynch) conquered the raceway by the river on Saturday (October 11), scoring top honors in the $25,000 Fred Nichols Invitational during the Maine Sire Stakes Championships harness racing card at Bangor Raceway.

Kevin Switzer, Jr hustled the six-year-old son of Southwind Lynch, aggressively off the car, dueling for the early lead while wedged between Call Me Maverick (Michael Stevenson) and Tenzing Bromac N (Ron Cushing), as the torrid trio treaded ferociously into the first turn.

Making the lead just past the eighth-pole, Switzer strategically throttled down his charge after piking to the quarter-marker in 27.4. Long, deep breaths were afforded the valiant pacesetter who strolled to the half in a reasonable 57.3 with the outer flow immediately forming as the soft second panel became evident.

David Ingraham tipped Two Fold Cold off the 3/8th-pole, flushing Ron Cushing and  Tenzing Bromac N into a first over assault, with both taking chase over a quickly accelerating Heinikin Bythebay.

After pacing a third panel in an incredible 27.2, Heinikin Bythebay was engaged in lockstep by Tenzing Bromac as they stared each other in the eye to three-quarters in 1:25, a lethal combat stance they would maintain through the entirety of the final turn.

Fanning off into the stretch, Heinikin Bythebay held firm along the pylons as Tenzing Bromac N and Two Fold Cold closed in gamely. And at the wire, the fans held their breaths (and tickets), before the photo-finish print proclaimed Switzer’s charge the victor by a nose over Two Fold Cold, while the tele-timer announced the 1:53.1 final time.

HEINIKIN BYTHEBAY REPLAY

Tenzing Bromac finished just 1/2-length back in third after the trio battled through an scintillating and fan satisfying 55.3 back-half.

The win was the fastest clocking of the season at Bangor Raceway and was the fifth driving win of the day for Switzer.

“That was one heck of a race” Switzer remarked, “Absolutely it was. These three horses, they’re some of the best you’re going to see up here. They’re all good horses and they all raced great.

“I was hoping to try not to take too much out of my horse early but I got a good second quarter breather. And that was an incredibly big back-half from all three of these horses. They all raced huge”. 

Heinikin Bythebay is owned and was bred by KDK Standardbreds and was trained to his 35th career victory by Kevin Switzer, Sr.

Live harness racing will continue on Sunday (October 12) with a 12:10 pm post time, and will be featured on a three day per week schedule in October with 3:00 pm (EDT) post times for the Wednesday twilight cards and with 12:10 pm starting times for the Saturday and Sunday matinees.

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 (http://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 (http://www.hollywoodcasinobangor.com/).

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

by Mike Sweeney for Bangor Raceway