AUGUSTA – Bangor Raceway regulars are going to have to make different plans on Wednesdays during the 2005 harness racing season, with the historic track forgoing its traditional midweek races to accommodate construction of a $75 million gambling complex.

The Maine Harness Racing Commission on Tuesday instead granted the Bass Park facility permission to hold 27 race dates on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from May 27 to July 24.

The raceway will host a 28th race date on Monday, July 4.

The racing dates – one more than last year – and the required licensing did not come easily for Penn National Gaming Inc., the Pennsylvania-based owner of Bangor Historic Track, the company that operates Bangor Raceway.

The five-member commission, meeting in Augusta, only gave Penn a conditional racing license for next year until the company agreed to provide the board with additional financial information.

Penn officials, however, have declined to hand over some documents – including tax returns and financial ledgers – they believe should be confidential.

The conditional nature of the license may be more about semantics than actual doubts about the multimillion dollar company’s financial ability to run the Bangor races, however.

On Tuesday, the racing commission – like the state’s Gambling Control Board before it – requested legislation to address Penn’s confidentiality concerns. The legislation is expected today, according to Gov. John Baldacci’s spokesman Lee Umphrey.

Until the confidentiality issue is resolved, however, Penn’s licenses – both its gambling license and racing license – are likely to remain conditional, according to George McHale, the chairman of both the gambling board and the racing commission.

Penn officials on Tuesday suggested they were being held to a higher standard than other racing applicants because of their plans to open a racetrack casino at Bass Park. Penn’s proposed facility includes 1,500 slot machines and a multilevel parking garage. Construction is scheduled to begin in May and continue for 12 to 18 months.

Penn spokesman Eric Schippers noted that no other applicant – including Scarborough Downs – was required to submit financial records dating back three years to gain an unconditional license.

“We just want to be treated equally,” Schippers said.

After the meeting, McHale said Penn was required to submit additional financial information because – unlike the other applicants – it was relatively new to Maine harness racing, only recently acquiring Bangor Historic Track.

At the Tuesday meeting, the commission awarded a total of 198 racing dates for the 2005 season at Maine’s two commercial tracks and nine agricultural fairs.

The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 28.

2005 Harness Racing Dates

SCARBOROUGH: April – 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30; May – 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30; June – 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29; July – 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, 31; August – 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31; September: 2, 3, 4, 10, 11; October: 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30; November: 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27; December: 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18

BANGOR: May – 27, 28, 29; June – 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26; July – 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24

PRESQUE ISLE: July – 29, 31; August – 1, 3, 4, 5

TOPSHAM: August – 7, 8, 11, 12, 13

SKOWHEGAN: August – 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

UNION: August – 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

WINDSOR: August – 28, 29, 30, 31; September: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

OXFORD: September – 14, 15, 16, 17

FARMINGTON: September – 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

CUMBERLAND: September – 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30; October – 1, 2

FRYEBURG: October – 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9