PRESQUE ISLE – The second annual Dirigo Pacing Series for open mares and fillies will begin Thursday evening at the Northern Maine Fair.

The series will be held at three fair tracks, and the final pace, for a purse of $15,000, will be at Scarborough Downs on Aug. 27.

Other fairs that sponsor the series are Topsham Fair on Aug. 7 and the Union Fair on Aug. 19. Each leg of the series will have a purse of $5,000 divided. Points will be earned for each race and the eight horses with the highest point totals will qualify for the final. Each entry in the final must have competed in all three legs.