The Harness Racing Study Comission, appointed by Gov. John R. McKernan Jr. and the Legislature last spring, will hold its final public hearings at 2 and 7 p.m. Monday at Cumberland Raceway’s track clubhouse.

This will be the public’s last chance to respond to the commission’s preliminary recommendations that have been formulated, in part, from meetings held at Scarborough, Bangor and Lewiston race tracks.

The commission was charged with studying the harness racing industry and making recommendations for improvements. One recommendation was to maintain strength in the Maine State Harness Racing Commission by keeping it at five members.

The Study Commission also recommends the elimination of the following on the Harness Racing Commission: broad geographic representation; no more than three members from one political party; individuals interested in the Maine breed of standardbred; and no financial interest in racing.

The study group suggests replacing the above with the following: have three members knowledgeable about harness racing and may have financial interest in some aspect of the business; have one member represent Maine’s agricultural fairs; and one member with no financial interest in racing and no such interest by spouse, parents or children.

The group also recommends the racing commission’s chairman be a full-time position at the salary of a bureau director or superintendent level.

Another recommendation deals with shifting budget and staffing responsibility from the Department of Agriculture to the Maine State Harness Racing Commission. The commission would be affiliated with the Department of Agriculture. The MSHRC would pass on its budget recommendations and possible legislative proposals to the Agriculture Committee.

Other preliminary recommendations include:

To promote the industry, the MSHRC appoint a Promotion Committee to make recommendations regarding industry promotion; and that the MSHRC be required to allocate racing dates on an advance three-year assignment basis.

To improve enforcement: judges should be hired and paid directly by the MSHRC; the MSHRC should be exempt from the Administrative Procedures Act; form a subcommittee appointed by the Study Commission to deal with changes in the hearing and appeals process; revise the current schedule of fines to assure that the punishment fits the crime; and address the need for additional enforcement staff to be considered as part of 1991 budget.

Skowhegan Raceway has co-features on Saturday’s 12-event racing card, the final day of racing at Skowhegan — the $4,000 Walter Hight Memorial Invitational Pace and the $1,500 Leonard Pooler Memorial Pace.

The annual Hight Pace also carries an additional incentive of $3,000 to the winner if the track’s pacing standard is lowered. The current pacing mark at Skowhegan is 1:59.2, set by Blizzbee and Marc Mosher on Aug. 20, 1988.

The Hight has a full field and one of the strongest pacing groups assembled in Eastern Maine this season. It includes: Pat Cash, 1:56.4 win; Tahoe Lobell, 1:57.2; License To Fly, 1:57.1; Witsend’s Sport, 1:58; Jockey Shorts, third in 1:57.3; Bret’s Caliber, 1:56.4; Laser Throckmorton, 1:57.3; and Antoine, 1:57. Will the track record fall? You bet!

In the fourth race, the $1,500 Pooler Memorial, Walter Case Jr. has a decided plus — the rail with Payton, who has been racing near the 2:00 mark. But Friendly Chris, Brooklyn Flats, Speediatrician and Scotty MacBaron all have a shot at it.

Post time is 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Harness racing and the 3-year-old divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes move to Union Fair next week while the 2-year-old divisions compete at Scarborough. Post times at Union are 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, and 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Post time on the final two days, Friday and Saturday, returns to 2 p.m.