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Bangor Raceway has only two weekends of its scheduled 27-day extended meet remaining and among the special events scheduled this weekend is Sunday’s Anah Temple Annual Shrine Trot.
A field of seven of New England’s best trotters step onto the Bangor track for the Shrine race. The entrants include a pair of Bangor track-record holders, Corky’s Boy and West Ridge Gossip.
Corky’s Boy and regular driver Leigh Fitch set a 2:00.2 mark in the Shrine Trot last year at Bangor and West Ridge Gossip and Gerald MacKenzie Jr. lowered the trotting mark to 2:00 two weeks ago.
The $3,000 trot again pits the two horses, and the first five trotters are post-positioned. Also included in the trot is former track record holder Cha Cha LaRoo. The complete trotting field, from the rail out, includes: Fitchetts Juan, Starburst LaManchi, Tootsie Rule, Four JG, Cha Cha LaRoo, Corky’s Boy and West Ridge Gossip.
July 19-20, raceway manager Fred Nichols will showcase two special features. On Saturday Niatross, the horse of the decade in the 1980s, will be at Bangor Raceway to lead a post parade, meet race fans and pose for pictures. Named Horse of the Year in 1979 and ’80, the 20-year-old Niatross makes Bangor Raceway the first stop on his second exhibition tour of select North American racetracks.
As a 3-year-old in 1980, Niatross and regular driver Clint Galbraith time-trialed at Lexington, Ky., in a record 1:49.1.
“His 1996 tour was successful beyond our greatest hopes,” said Walnridge Farm Manager David Meirs III, manager of the syndicate that owns Niatross. Miers said after the first tour, the horse’s health was perfect and he seemed to thrive on the attention he got from racing fans.
“The tour also raised more than $11,000 for the Standardbred Retirement Foundation through Niatross souvenir sales. Niatross was voted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame at Goshen, N.Y., on July 6.
Following his exhibition in front of the grandstand, members of the New England Harness Writers Association will present a blanket to Niatross. At 2:30 p.m. on July 18, Nichols has scheduled a press conference for members of the media who would like an opportunity to jog the legendary pacing champion.
On Sunday, July 20, the final day of racing, the raceway will feature its annual $10,000 Penobscot High Stakes Bingo Invitational. The pacing event will attract some of the fastest pacers in New England to compete in Maine’s richest invitational pace. For the past three years, it has been the traditional closer at the Bangor meet.
“Our sponsorship of this special community event and our association with Bangor Raceway has been a good thing and proven to be of mutual benefit to both of us,” said Miles Francis, Penobscot Bingo’s spokesman.
This was the second week of competition for the 3-year-old Maine Breeders Stakes at Bangor, and for the first time in recent stakes memory, the two weeks were completed under clear, sunny skies with no rain.
On Tuesday, the 3-year-old trotting division had a back-to-back winner in Frankenstarr. The daughter of Frankenshew, owned by Ann Hamlin of E. Millinocket, made the difficult eighth position look easy as she won in 2:08.2
made it from her outside position and crossed the finish line first in 2:08.2.
Last Saturday, the 3-year-old fillies raced in two divisions with Nite Nite Lee and Donny Richards becoming a repeat winner in a swift 2:00.2 for co-owners (along with Richards) Tom Dillon of Anson and Walter Hight of Skowhegan. In the second stakes event, Blue Eyes Blue and Bob Sumner won the top share of the $5,722 purse for owner Dorothy Hiscock of Livermore. Last week’s MSBS filly pace winner, She’s My Niece, and Kim Ireland finished second.
Sunday the two colts and geldings divisions recorded near-record times at Bangor. In the first division, Guadalajara Harry and Eddie Davis Jr. sizzled the Bangor race course in 1:58.3 for owners Bob and Yvette Prudenzano of Augusta and Basil Kellis of Wells.
In the second colt division, Play it Straight and Heath Campbell werent to be outdone. The Wilco’s Data colt made it a wire-to-wire victory in the identical time of 1:58.3 for the top share of $5,509 purse for owners Time & Pace Stables of Bar Mills. Another Wilco’s Data colt, Gaelic Ian and Doug Gray finished second for owner Rosey Susi of Cumberland Center.
According to the Maine State Racing Office in Augusta, My Bill Troy holds the 3-year-old colt MSBS mark of 1:57.1, set in 1993 at Scarborough Downs. Waltz On Jeff and Paul Battis hold the 3-year-old MSBS Bangor pacing mark of 1:58.1, set in 1989. The MSBS 2-and 3-year-old divisions move to Scarborough Downs this week.
PACING BITS – The County Raceway in Presque Isle resumes its Friday racing program after a rainout last Friday. Post time is 7:30 p.m.
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