Tracks agree on stakes races Sites can switch after bad weather

loading...

Wednesday’s special meeting of the Maine State Harness Racing Commission actually produced two compromise agreements involving Bangor Raceway.

In addition to the handshake deal between representatives of Bangor Raceway and Scarborough Downs that resulted in the addition of 14 race dates this summer and fall, the meeting also produced a unique arrangement to protect Maine Sire Stakes races against weather-related track conditions or cancellations.

MSHRC members gave MSHRC executive director Henry Jackson the authority to move races to another track location if weather or track conditions are deemed to unsafe to run the races.

Although concerns over the safety of Bangor Raceway’s surface have recently been allayed, the water-related drainage problems that forced the cancellation of 14 spring race dates and led to ongoing repair work also led to this unique move by the MSHRC.

“The issue was the condition of the track at Bangor, which has been an ongoing problem,” said Mike Andrew, president of the Maine Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association. “There are a lot of owners and trainers of stakes horses who didn’t feel the surface was adequate for young horses to be starting on, even though some of the overnight horses have been racing there when they could.

“They’ve been calling me pretty steadily since the middle of May to keep an eye on this because we were worried that the progress was slow even though it was improving.”

Andrew and MSBOA vice-president James Kelley met with state steward Ralph Canney at Bangor and decided it would be OK to start the stakes races, but they wanted an insurance policy just in case.

“We wanted to have an option to move some of them, especially the 2-year-olds, if the track conditions deteriorated,” Andrew said. “So we asked the commission if they would give Henry the authority to move the races to another location if we all agree it ought to be done.”

The unique agreement requires a consensus among the state steward, the MSBOA board, a Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association representative, and a track official for a change of venue before Jackson would switch the races to another track.

“I don’t expect at this point that it will be necessary. We raced there last night [Wednesday] and the track was OK. It was a little cuppy and erratic, but we got through it OK,” Andrew said. “There’s been improvement since the last time I was there June 15. It’s been slow and hasn’t been all it should have been, but I’m happy with the progress.”

Andrew, MSHRC chairman George McHale and Bangor Raceway director of operations Corey Smith emphasized that this arrangement does not apply solely to Bangor.

“It’s also for this season only,” said McHale. “We don’t anticipate any more problems with the track, but if there are, we would move them to another track, which would likely be Scarborough.”

“It’s kind of an insurance and safety thing and it can apply to any track this summer,” Andrew said. “It lets us make a switch without having to go back through the race commission, which can be a very slow process when you’re trying to get five people together.

“You never know what might happen. We might get torrential rains at another track and get flooded out, which has happened before at Union.”

“Based on what Mike said today, he was willing to give us a chance and is going to constantly monitor it,” said Smith. “On a side note, now that we’ve started construction for a new paddock, we think we found the source of the water, which was under the paddock, so we think we may be able to totally fix that problem.”

Mud-clogged drainage pipes under the track didn’t allow the winter runoff and rain water to drain off, leaving the track soggy, soft and uneven for the first two months of the 2008 season.

“They’ve graded it twice and if they grade it again, they’ll need to have the track conditioner go over it, then dig it up a little and then spread material around for a more even surface, as well as add material in some places where there are still soft spots,” Andrew said. “If they continue to work the track every day in the proper fashion, it should improve steadily.”

Bartlett has the inside track

He and his horse might be literal dark horses with 6-to-1 odds, but Windsor native Jason Bartlett will have one key advantage when he drives Velocity Hall in the $605,854 Yonkers Trot Race tonight.

Bartlett and the Maine-trained, Maine-owned 3-year-old trotter will start from the coveted (No. 1) post position.

If you need any more superstitious reasons for optimism, consider this will be Bartlett’s third time driving Velocity Hall.

“I feel real good because we finished second the first time I drove him and he was really good last week, and we really didn’t race him hard,” Bartlett said. “We only lost by three lengths with all the complications we had and we wanted to play it safe and have him finish in the top eight to guarantee a chance for a good draw.”

Mission accomplished.

Velocity Hall is co-owned by Tom Dillon of Anson and Walter Hight of Skowhegan. Dillon will attend the race personally, but Hight has horsepower of a different kind that he has to attend to.

“I have to go at the Skowhegan fairgrounds for a demolition derby, truck pull and tractor pull,” said Hight, a Skowhegan Fair fixture and a horse owner for the last 25 years. “But I will get to watch the trot race on the big screen.”

Bartlett, 27, is hoping the undreamed-of success he’s had his rookie season at Yonkers continues Saturday night.

Through Tuesday, Bartlett is the top driver at the New York track with 246 wins and nearly $2.1 million in purse winnings this year. He’s averaging about nine or 10 rides a night.

“Jason drives a lot of Scott’s [Scott Dillon] horses and we figured we’d give the Maine kid a chance,” Hight said with a slight chuckle. “If he can do well in this race, it would be an even bigger shot in the arm for him.”

aneff@bangordailynews.net

990-8205