Bass Park to open May 13 for extended race meet

Activity at Bass Park is increasing daily as racing officials prepare for the return of harness racing to eastern and northern Maine.

Bangor Raceway will open on Sunday, May 13, for a 30-day extended race meet under the auspices of Bangor Historic Track, the investor group that has leased the raceway from the city of Bangor for the past eight years. Fred Nichols, raceway manager for BHT, said this week he hopes the last of the snow has come and gone.

“The track is in pretty good shape considering all the ice and snow we had this winter. We will be opening in three weeks and we really need three of four sunny days in a row so we can get the track ready for racing,” Nichols said.

Area horsemen who stabled at the winter training facility at Bass Park, have jogged countless silent miles around the snow-covered, half-mile Bangor racing oval through the long, cold months of winter. Now they find that daily chore less tedious as old friends return and begin jogging their horses back into shape and sharing on-track stories.

More Canadian and Maine horsemen arrive and begin the process of bedding stalls and setting up for Bangor’s extended meet opener on May 13. Summer harness races at Bangor Raceway have been an annual ritual and tradition at Bass Park for more than a century.

For nine weeks of racing, Bangor will be the center of the sport in this area of the state. Bangor has always been considered a training track for young hopefuls entering the Maine sport. Today, there are nationally ranked harness drivers who “cut their teeth” in the horse-and-buggy sport at Bangor Raceway – Walter Case Jr. and Teddy Wing come to mind. And this year, it will be no different. Another young driving hopeful with skillful driving hands and abilities will emerge from the pack.

Bangor’s extended meet racing schedule is relaxed and considered a sort of “prep meet” for horse and driver to get tuned up for the rigors of daily racing. When Bangor Raceway closes on July 22, horsemen will move onto Maine’s fair racing circuit. And for eight straight weeks there will be weekly treks to a different track somewhere in the state, beginning at Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle on July 27 and ending Oct. 7 at Fryeburg Fair.

Nichols said there are some minor personnel changes at the track this year, but the racing personnel are “pretty much the same people who were here last season.”

Walter McIntire returns to his perch on roof of the grandstand as the presiding judge, along with associate judges Frank Hall Jr. and Sheridan Smith. Ken Ronco returns to Bangor for his second year as race secretary and Roger Smith Jr. fills the rear seat of the pace car as race starter. Also standing atop the grandstand roof announcing the races are: Bill Ellis, former announcer at Foxboro Park and Wayne Harvey, sports director at Channel 2, Bangor, who made his first race calls at Bangor Raceway last year.

Bangor Raceway’s 30-day harness racing schedule calls for: Sunday and Wednesday racing through May; Wednesday, Friday and Sunday through June and July (adding Saturday, July 21) before closing Sunday, July 22. Post times are: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (July 4th only, 6:15 p.m. for fireworks). All qualifying races are scheduled at 6:15 p.m. Friday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Before Bangor’s extended race meet opens, state statutes mandate the track hold two qualifying sessions, so the pre-meet qualifiers are scheduled at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 5 and 6:15 p.m., Wednesday, May 9.

Nichols has added new promotions this year to augment his “tried and true” events from past years. One new event is a series of five late-closing events honoring valued raceway people at the Bangor track. On opening Sunday, The Warren Strout Pacing Series, for 4-year-olds and older, will kick off the featured series. All divisions of The Strout will be raced on opening day with a $9,000 final on Sunday, May 20.

Also, there are community events planned to benefit local charities. One event will give the grandstand and racing apron spectators an opportunity to see some area celebrities riding bicycles “down the homestretch” in a race to the finish line. Proceeds from this special event, and other events, will benefit: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer research; Bangor P.A.L.; Bangor D.A.R.E.; Maine Safe Kids Program and Pathfinders. “At the finish line,” Nichols said, “if they haven’t crashed into each other or otherwise cracked up their bikes, the bikes will be given to children in the audience that night.”

Nichols also has programmed some special giveaways each race night. A new, Penobscot High Stakes Bingo handicapping contest is open to everyone over 18 and offers a startup cash prize of $200 and, if there are no winners opening day, $100 will be added each race day until someone wins it. Then it starts all over again. Also, Main 1 Travel repeats offering race goers an opportunity to win two free air fare tickets to anywhere in the contiguous United States. There will be a special “new owners” seminar, conducted by John Pawlak, USTA and fireworks on the Fourth of July and special appearances by The Dixieland Band and the Balloon Lady.

On the wagering side, the Bangor track will introduce a new pair of exotic wagers – the Pick-5 and the twin trifecta in addition to its regular wagering patterns. The Pick-5 guarantees a nightly carryover of at least $500 and the twin trifecta guarantees a $1,000 carryover each race night. All the events are free to enter if you are of legal age and there is never an admission fee to the harness races at Bass Park.

Ken Ward may be reached by e-mail at hogg@prexar.com