Six win spectacular for Dan Deslandes

Bangor, Maine … The harness racing fans at Bangor Raceway were treated to a rare double hat trick performance from the driver nicknamed “Double D” on Sunday (June 9) as Dan Deslandes won six races on the twelve-race program.

The effort from the defending 2023 driving champion and current top stick marked the most prodigious output from a driver at the venerable racing venue yet this season.

Deslandes capitalized on family connections on Sunday, collecting four of his half-dozen scores from horses sent to post from the stable commanded by his father, Jeffrey Deslandes, as the elder conditioner reclaimed top dog status among the trainers’ ranks at Bangor Raceway.

First from the family roster, Next Big Thing (Shadow Play) in 1:56.1 navigated an insistent first-over journey, briefly coming eye-to-eye with the pacesetting Fern Hill Flight (Andy Harrington) before sprinting clear to a three-length margin at the top of the stretch and casually striding to a 5-3/4 length final measurement while securing his fourth win of the year in a seasonal best performance. He paid $5.40 to win.

NEXT BIG THING REPLAY

Lydia’s Liberty (Betterthancheddar) in 1:57.2 rode a seemingly safe pocket journey behind Go Sandy Go (Andy Harrington) before being forced to quickly shift strategies, narrowly escaping her cover’s faltering speed before taking up a first-over pursuit of Pembroke Ideal BJ (Heath Campbell) after the latter had opportunistically gained the advantage following a gritty overland pursuit.

Duking it out through the stretch, Deslandes’ charge proved one-length better than Campbell’s on Sunday, lighting up the infield tote-board as the second longest shot at post time. She paid $23.80 to win.

LYDIA’S LIBERTY REPLAY

Rocnrolwilneverdie (Rocknroll Hanover) in 1:59 provided the theme music for the Deslandes clan prime time spectacular as the 14-year-old secured the 75th win of his illustrious career.

Quickly claiming his favored front-end seat, the veteran pacer benefited from a perfectly rated mile, lulling the competition to the the half in a tepid 1:00.1, keeping all the moving pieces firmly in their places as the tempo improved to :28.4 through the the third panel, and then confidently measuring a 1/4 length margin at the wire while holding firm through a :57.1 back-half to claim his third win of his final racing season. He paid $7.40 to win.

ROCNROLWILNEVERDIE REPLAY

The Jeffrey Deslandes roster completed their grand slam offering with Moonlightandroses (Deuce Seelster) in 1:57.3 flashing her customary gate-to-wire speed to claim her 35th career victory while scoring her fifth win of the year and paying $5.60 to win.

Dan Deslandes’ Sunday catch-drive tallies included Cinderlane Shark (1:57.3-$3.20) and Pink Delight (1:59.2-$2.20) who both took advantage of huge class relief scenarios to soar gate-to-wire for trainers Richard Allaby and Karl Butterfield respectively.

Deslandes six-pack performance increased his meet’s leading top-dash tally to 27 on the season, nine more than Heath Campbell who currently resides in second place on the leaderboard.

In other Bangor news, the driver/trainer team of Andy and Sara Harrington enjoyed another fine day at the races on Sunday, sending two winners, Drinka Beer (1:56.1-$6.60) and Autumn Moon (1:59.1-$8.80), to the post.

The Maine Sire Stakes program makes its much-anticipated 2024 seasonal debut at Bangor Raceway on Wednesday (June 12) with twin splits of the three-year-old pacing colt division going to post for identical $16,632 purse offerings. The stakes contests have been carded as races one and two on the ten-race program which gets underway beginning at 3:00 p.m. (EDT)

Live harness racing is proudly featured at Bangor Raceway throughout the summer season every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) with the Sunday morning matinees going to post bright and early at 11:00 a.m. Simulcast wagering is available daily in the grandstand facility.

For complete information regarding live racing, simulcast wagering, gaming, dining and hotel accommodations at Bangor’s Hollywood Casino and Raceway, please visit the website.

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

by Mike Sweeney, for Bangor Raceway