Bangor expects big holiday crowd

Officials at Bangor Raceway are gearing up for what they expect will be one of the largest crowds of the season this Fourth of July. Family entertainment, the first Sire Stakes race of the season, and the city fireworks hopefully will help contribute to a large turnout, according to general manager Fred Nichols.

The past few years, crowds at the raceway on Fourth of July have been the largest of the season, said Nichols. Instead of the usual 1:30 p.m. post time, the track will run the first race of the day at 6:30 p.m. to coincide with the city fireworks.

“If everything goes smoothly, the final race will be over five minutes before the fireworks go off,” said Nichols.

Nichols sees the fireworks as the main attraction that brings people to the track on the holiday.

“The fireworks are a huge draw. … When you’re sitting in the grandstand, [the fireworks] go right off over the auditorium. It’s very nice, you’ve got a comfortable seat, and if it’s raining you’ve got a roof over you,” said Nichols.

The track will also feature the music of the Dixieland Band and the balloon creations of the Balloon Lady to help make the track more family-friendly. The Dixieland Band will begin performing at 6:30 p.m. and will play between races until the start of the fireworks.

The Balloon Lady will create horse-hats and other race-inspired designs out of balloons to help entertain children throughout the evening.

While officials are expecting a considerably higher crowd turnout, they do not anticipate an equally higher handle, as many families will be in attendance and do not bet as much as the average patron, said Nichols.

“I think in the longer run, more people is more important [than a larger handle] because by-and-large they like it and will come back,” he said.

The first two races of the Maine Sire Stakes will also be held on Sunday. The two divisions racing will be 2-year-old colt trotters and 2-year-old colt pacers.

Racing notebook

. Beginning Sunday, Bangor Raceway is expanding its number of race days to four per week. Besides the current race days of Friday and Sunday, the track will also feature races on Wednesday and Saturday evenings with a 7:30 post time until the end of the season on July 25.

. A Minor Variation took first place for the second weekend in a row on Sunday afternoon. Driver Heath Campbell helped the horse improve on last weekend’s time of 2 minutes, 2.1 seconds to 2:00.4. The purse for each race was $1,200.

. Over the weekend Bangor Raceway saw it’s handle drop 5 percent from last weekend, but it is up almost 9 percent from last year’s Friday and Sunday totals.

. Campbell continues to dominate Bangor Raceway with an acquired purse of more than $35,000. Campbell also races at Scarborough Downs, where 215 starts have brought him 44 wins and more than $60,000 in purse money.