Maine Legends Series set for Cumberland

CUMBERLAND, ME – First Tracks Cumberland, in collaboration with Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway Bangor, has drawn for the Maine Legends pacing series to be held at both harness racing tracks beginning on Tuesday (July 6) at Cumberland and Wednesday (July 7) at Bangor.  Each leg carries a purse of $4,000 and has been written as a claiming allowance condition, with separate events for each gender.

The purse for the finals of each event is $12,500 guaranteed and will be raced at both tracks on July 24 (Cumberland) and July 25 (Bangor).

The ‘Donald Richards’ first leg for mares attracted ten entrants, which were split into two divisions and carded as races one and four on Tuesday (July 6) at Cumberland.

The first ‘Maine Legends’ division of competitive distaffs is headlined by 2-1 morning line favorite Media Queen N (post 3, Bruce Ranger) coming into the race off a three-race winning streak.  The 10-year-old daughter of Mach Three is trained by Benson Merrill and appears to be very comfortable on the front end.  She will have to tussle with Humor Me (post 2, Drew Campbell), a six-year-old Bettor’s Delight mare that has been battling with this bunch for several weeks and looks to improve her record for trainer Kim Vafiades.

Punters may have to take a chance on which Love Love Me Do (post 4, Dan Deslandes) will show up in that first division as well.  The 7-year-old Rocknroll Hanover had reeled off four consecutive wins before shutting down at the three-quarters in her last start on June 15.  Another potential spoiler could be Age Is A Number (post 5, Aaron Hall) who won her last start and whose driver has been 1-2-3 in seven of his last 13 starts at the fairgrounds.

The fourth race, second division of ‘The Donald Richards’ sees Plainridge invader Patanjali N (post 5, Walter Case Jr.) ostensibly dropping in class following a long string of 1-2 finishes in 7500 claimers in the Old Bay State.  Trained by Chris Lefebvre and installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite, the 8-year-old American Ideal mare has earned over $20,000 this season.

Considering the potential of the aforementioned favored lady, this race could be a battle for second place if form holds true, pitting Mickey Blu (4, Drew Campbell), against We’re Gonna Rock (post 3, McGwire Sowers) and Post Time Terror (post 1, Bruce Ranger) who all appear to be of relative equivalent ability.

Named for a two of the most revered Maine Harness Horsemen of the current era, Freeman Parker and Donnie Richards, the series is unique in that there is no entry fee.  In addition, it provides racing opportunities for both horses/geldings and for mares, 4-years-old and older that may be ‘stuck’ between classes.

The ‘Freeman Parker’ first $4,000 leg for horses and geldings at Bangor on Wednesday (July 7) is carded as race six and is highlighted by the winning machine Southwind Terror.  Trained by Chris Hitchcock and driven by Nick Graffam, ‘The Terror’ scores from post six in an eight horse field, which is sure to test the 5-race win streak of the 11-year-old son Camluck.

The series is open to pacers that have started for a base claiming price of $6,000 or less since November 1, 2020, and have not won for a base claiming price exceeding $8,000, or have not won a race for a purse of $10,000 or more from November 1, 2020 through date of first leg entry.

The co-featured trot of the day pits General Jackson (post 4, Drew Campbell) against Jake G’s Champion (post 5, Andy Harrington), where the former out trotted the latter in their last meeting on June 26.  Ironically the post positions are exactly the same in this renewal of the $4,600 conditioned race, with the likely leavers leaving and the setters setting.  Looking the spoil the war party is Mad Dog (post 6, Heath Campbell) who finished second in his last outing, despite a misstep in the early going.

Live harness racing from Cumberland is presented each Tuesday and Saturday through July 31, post time is 2:30 pm, with two additional dates added Wed. & Thurs., Aug. 4 & 5 with 11 am posts.  For more information go to the Cumberland Raceway website: firsttrackscumberland.com