Pacing colts invade closing weekend

CUMBERLAND, ME – The 3-year-old male pacers, otherwise known as the glamour boys division, highlight Friday’s (Aug. 1) harness racing program at Cumberland Raceway, followed by the freshman sidesteppers on Saturday’s (Aug. 2) closing card of the Spring/Summer meet.

Friday’s program features two $11,937 divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings in the opener and race three.  Massive Speed (8-5, Aaron Hall) will look to keep his unblemished seasonal record intact as he faces five other foes from post three. Trained by Marc Tardif for owner Leighton Property, the son of Dude’s The Man has taken all four of his sophomore starts in front-end fashion.

Looking to keep the former freshman champion honest is Ridgecrest Dan (3-1, John Nason) who won his last start in the other division and sports three victories on the season.  Nason also trains for owner Bill Phipps, with the son of Dude’s The Man scoring from post four.  Race Me Celtic (5-1, Drew Campbell) gets the advantage of pylon position and his pilot’s propensity to ‘send em’ for trainer / owner Bill Childs.

In the other $11,000-plus division, Tardif sends three into the mix, including No Guts No Glory (1-1, McGwire Sowers), the early morning-line favorite.

Racing resumes on the final day of the summer meet Saturday (Aug. 2), which includes a full card simulcast of Hambletonian Day from the Meadowlands.  Doors open at 12 noon, but first live post is still 3:15 pm.

The featured race of the day is the annual $25,000 Pine Tree Invitational Pace, which is carded as race nine.  Leading the charge in this group is Tenzing Bromac N (2-1, Ron Cushing) who was just third in the $75,000 Beckwith Memorial at Plainridge.  With 20 wins down under, the 8-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight is making his first start on a half-mile track.

Former Maine Sire Stakes star Two Fold Cold (5-2, Dave Ingraham) is the second choice from post four, and he finished second in that same rich Beckwith Mem.

In addition, there are two $11,623 divisions of 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers, a $10,000 Open Trot, and three $8,000 End of Summer Pop Up Series finals.

Post time for both days is 3:15 pm, and there is a Trifecta in all races, and the program also features a plethora of exotic wagers.  Cumberland’s Pick 5 begins with the third race, and continues with our Pick 4 and Pick 3 toward the tail end of the program, and concludes with our High-Five Pentafecta in the final race—all with low 16% takeouts.

Live video and replays can be found on our website: firsttrackscumberland.com on the Live Racing / Video Replays tab.

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

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland