Demand for horses will exceed supply for holiday racing

The tight supply of horses in Maine is really being jammed this holiday weekend. With Bangor Raceway, Scarborough Downs and County Raceway calling for horses, the demand will far exceed the supply.

During the past three years, with sinking racing revenues and an uncertain future, there has been a downward trend in Maine horse breedings. Everyone either went to outside sires or cut back on their breeding operations.

The infusion of off-track wagering money during the past year has begun to reverse that trend, but the decrease in the breeding program over the past three years is beginning to show up at the tracks. It takes time to replenish numbers.

With more money available through increased purses and more confidence in the racing industry, the trend is slowly beginning to reverse itself. But the need for horses is immediate for this weekend and beyond, and watered down, short field racing programs promote mediocrity, not quality, for racing fans.

Bangor Raceway’s off-track betting is the difference at the Historic Bangor Track this season. The overall parimutuel handle on live racing for the first 19 days is down from last year, according to George Witman, mutuels director. But adding the OTB money coming from outside the track, the deficit handles drop significantly.

In 1993, the total handle for 15 days was $1,062,086 with a daily average of $70,805. The live handle in 1994 for 19 days is $1,058,567, with daily averages of $55,714, down 22.5 percent from last year.

But merging the live and OTB handles, Bangor’s overall handle rises to $1,250,465 and the daily average increases to $65,814, down 8.4 percent from 1993. Despite the lower figures, the directors voted to increase purses at Bangor beginning Saturday.

Bangor will race on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. but not on the Fourth of July. The Sunday feature will be one of the Historic Series, the $1,600 Colonel Morrill Pace.

Morrill, a Civil War hero and a racing promoter, was one of the Standardbred sport’s foremost horsemen in Maine. He was also the subject of a novel by Robert Haskell titled “Yankee Warrior.” Haskell will make the blanket presentation on Sunday.

Also on Sunday’s program is the opening leg of the Joseph P. Bass Series, a late-closing event. Bass owned Maplewood Park, now Bass Park, and gave the land in trust to Bangor.

Bangor Historic Park will present The Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes during the next three weeks.

Also, on Shrine Sunday, July 17, an attempt will be made to break the track’s pacing record of 1:56 with Lorryland Butler, a 9-year-old pacer by Skip By Night, out of Jud’s Choice. The mare has lifetime earings of $797,784 and a lifetime mark of 1:50.1 set at The Meadowlands two years ago. Owner Lawrence Kadish has assured Bangor track operator Fred Nichols the horse will be in Bangor on July 17.

Scarborough Downs has increased its live summer racing schedule. It began on Thursday, June 30, when the seaside oval increased the program with live races every day through July 10, including the Fourth of July. Post times are 7:30 every night and 1 p.m. Sundays. A special Fourth of July post time is 6 p.m. Scarborough will race six days each week through September and be dark on Mondays.

County Raceway in Presque Isle will not race on Monday, the Fourth of July. The track was originally awarded the race date by the Maine State Harness Racing Commission, but many of the horses racing Friday would be scheduled “back in the go” on Monday. With County’s Friday night racing program and the inability to send the charted lines on each horse to the U.S. Trotting Association for updating during the holiday weekend, the race track had to relinquish its planned holiday racing.

Last Friday at County two horsemen, Ed Ballou and Jimmy Shaw, reportedly had a narrow escape. They were driving the one and two horses, Stop and Listen and Flodene H, in the seventh race. At the first quarter pole, Ballou’s horse reportedly folded like an accordian.

Shaw did not have time or space enough to clear Ballou on the inside and the two hooked bikes. Both Shaw and Ballou were roughed up somewhat, but Shaw escaped serious injuries. Ballou was treated for a bruised shoulder at The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle and released.

Have a safe and sane Fourth of July weekend at your favorite race track or OTB parlor.