Domination in Fryeburg Fair Maine Breeders Stakes

CUMBERLAND, ME – As advertised, the best sophomore harness racing trotters in the state of Maine have continued to lead the way at the Fryeburg Fair, en route to the rich $240,000-plus Maine Breeders Stakes (MSBS) sophomore finals on Oct. 15^th at Bangor.

Katahdin Mark (Noble Venture), the sophomore male point leader had no trouble adding another victory to his already impressive résumé, taking the $18,489 MSBS 3-year-old colt and gelding trot on Thursday (Oct. 6) at the ‘Blue Ribbon Classic’ Fryeburg Fair.  He has found the winners circle eight times in twelve seasonal outings for trainer driver Gary Hall and owners/breeders James T. Kelley Jr. & Betsey H. Kelley.

Hall moved wagering favorite Katahdin Mark right to the lead from post three and set comfortable opening fractions of 30.1 and 1:01 while Wild Venture (Dave Ingraham/Ivan Davies) sat in the two hole.  Second choice Warriorofthevalley (Andy Harrington/Marc Tardif) made an uncharacteristic miscue in the first turn.

The outer flow started to materialize going into a 1:31.3 third panel with Chamorro (Heath Campbell/Valerie Grondin) trying to gain ground and catch the leaders.  At the head of the stretch Chamorro had advanced dramatically and found himself within one length of Katahdin Mark, with Sammy’s Venture (Walter Case Jr./Mike Stevenson) rallying toward the wire as well.

Katahdin Mark held off the late chargers to score in 2:02.1 by a measured length.  He paid $4.60 to win.  It was a photo for place with Chamorro finishing second and Sammy’s Venture third.

On the early card the ultra-consistent Maplewood Slugger (Pembroke Slugger) took a garden seat stroll around the Fryeburg oval and scored handily for driver Andy Harrington and trainer John Nason in the $18,286 MSBS 3-year-old filly trot.

Leaving from post two the filly grabbed the lead in a healthy 30.4 opening quarter.  With her stable mate Show No Tears parked out and moving to the half, Harrington relinquished the lead to driver John Nason into a 1:00.4 second panel.  The next quarter remained unchanged as Pembroke Faye (Campbell/Grondin) was third going into that 1:31.1 third stanza.

Rounding the run and through the stretch Harrington had Maplewood Slugger out and rolling to score by 3-3/4 lengths in 2:01, a new lifetime best.

It was the seventh win of the year for the homebred property of Maxine Hadlock.  Pembroke Faye finished second; Show No Tears was third.

Two $18,000-plus MSBS divisions for 3-year-old filly pacers race on the regular Fryeburg card on Friday (Oct. 7), with the glamour boys (3CP) coming in with one division on Saturday (Oct. 8).

For more information about the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes, follow our Facebook page @MaineBreedersAssociation, or go to the Maine State website.

For complete race results, click here.

by Chris Tully, for the Maine Breeders Stakes