Humor Me laughing all the way to the bank

CUMBERLAND, ME – Humor Me does not need a lot of luck to win races, because she has been blessed with perhaps a more consistent and beneficial trait: Toughness.  Or so says her owner, Pete Haskell.

“I have owned horses for over forty years,” noted the mare’s 79-year-old owner.  “And I have had some luck here and there.  But this mare is as tough as they come.”

A six-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight, she is from the iron-tough race mare Laughandbehappy p,1:49.1 ($729,104) who defeated Anndrovette in the $404,250 Roses Are Red at Mohawk in 2011, finished second to Dreamfair Eternal.  It’s clear that Humor Me’s toughness runs in the family, as she is a half-sister to the hard-hitting Carolina Beach p, 1:49.1f ($491,390), so it’s no wonder that she keeps getting better with age.

Trainer Kim Vafiades has had the mare about three years now and has nothing but rave reviews about her toughness and durability.  “We bought her for $3,000 in the summer of 2019, and she has done nothing but make money ever since,” noted Vafiades.  “Pretty near $50,000, which is not bad for a ‘cheap’ pacing mare.”

Coming off a win in her last start, Humor Me lines up in post three for the opener on Tuesday (Nov. 23) with Nick Graffam driving and has been installed as the 5-2 favorite, which is the start of the Pick 5.

Ultra-consistent this season, she has elevated her classification and managed to pick up 10 wins and 9 seconds in 28 seasonal starts, earning $31,756.  A barn favorite, she is well-mannered and goes about her daily routine professionally.  But once she hits the track, “she’s like a bull in a china shop,” noted Vafiades.  “She pulls a ton when we jog her.”

Vafiades added, “But we don’t mind, our owner has literally laughed all the way to the bank!”

Tuesday’s (Nov. 23) ten-race card boasts full fields and with a $1,752 carryover, First Tracks Cumberland also presents a $5,000 guaranteed Pick 4 for races 7 through 10.  Drivers Drew Campbell and Bruce Ranger are just one win apart in the seasonal driver standings at 51-50 respectively, with each reinsman securing mounts in seven or more of the day’s events.

Racing resumes on Friday (Nov. 26) with three divisions of the Maine Amateur Driving Club and all the regular wagering products that punters would want or expect on a Black Friday harness racing program, including a Pick 5, Pick 4, Pick 3, a 20 cent Super, two daily doubles, and exacta and trifecta wagering in every race.

For Saturday’s (Nov. 26) card, the draw on Tuesday (Nov. 23) features a few new classes:

Pacing event, 5-year-olds and under Trackmaster 70 or less, and the “Grumpy Old Man Pace” for 10-year-olds and older 76 TMR or less.

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the draw schedule has been adjusted to reflect the long weekend.

UPCOMING RACE/DRAW DATES

Saturday, Nov. 27 – Post Time 11:00 am (Draw on Tues., Nov. 23, Box closes at 9 am).

Sunday, Nov. 28 – Post Time 11:00 am (Draw on Wed., Nov. 24, Box closes at 9 am).

Tuesday, Nov. 30 – Post Time 11:00 am (Draw on Sat., Nov. 27, Box closes at 9 am).

Our Winter Festival extended pari-mutuel meeting continues with live harness racing several days each week through December 31, 2021.

For more information go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com

Follow us on Facebook at @FirstTracksCumberland.

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland