November 25, 2023 – by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland (Stephanie Gray photo)

CUMBERLAND, ME – Before the so-called “Race of the Year” with likely Horse of the Year Confederate facing older foes at the Meadowlands in tonight’s $350,000 FanDuel Championship, Cumberland will host what could be described as Maine’s Thanksgiving Tussle as some of the best pacers in New England go head-to-head in the $6,500 Winners Over Pace on Saturday (Nov. 25).

Assigned the six and seven post positions respectively, Nineteenth Man A (2-1, Ron Cushing) and The Bird Dance N (5-1, Dan Deslandes) highlight a field of sharp sidesteppers in the holiday weekend’s featured event.  Nineteenth Man A has six wins on his card this season, and earnings of $58,856.  The 5-year-son of Captaintreachersous is in good form and is coming off a win at Plainridge.  He is trained by Heidi Cushing.

The Bird Dance is looking for his tenth win of the year while earning $60,241, and has won some of the signature events at both Maine pari-mutuel tracks, including the $25,000 Fred Nichols at Bangor and the $10,000 Bruce Ranger Open at Cumberland.  The 8-year-old son of A Rocknroll Dance is trained by Karl Butterfield.

The field also contains De Chirico (Drew Campbell) and former track record holder Rocksapatriot (Dave Ingraham), making this a strong set of upper echelon performers.  Carded as the eighth race, first post for Saturday’s (Nov. 25) twelve race card is 11 am.

The following day on Sunday’s (Nov. 26) program the top trotters meet in the $5,500 conditioned feature.  Broadway Giant (2-1, Bruce Ranger) will look to keep his winning streak alive from post six.  Winning his last four out of five with two in a row, the 9-year-old son of Broadway Hall is trained by Ron Patoine.  He will have to contend with Mister Muscle (7-2, Aaron Hall) who scores from pylon position for trainer Jamie Gerard.

Sunday’s card also features the fourth $4,400 leg of the Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC), with last week’s victor Martaritaondarocks (2-1, Cain MacKenzie) assigned post eight.  The MADC series is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed Stores of Windham and North Yarmouth, Maine. 

A total of 25 races will be offered over the Saturday and Sunday cards, all with full fields.  Wagering options include our Pick 5 starting with the third race; the Pick 4 highlights the ninth, and our High-Five Pentafecta in the finale. 

For the third season in a row First Tracks Cumberland will present the Au Revoir Retirement Showcase, slated for Saturday, December 23.  The event is open to 14-year-old horses that are racing or retired and have Maine connections.  Horses will parade in front of the fans in either harness or halter and be featured in a half-page bio with photograph in the program.  Equine honorees must be present to participate and must ‘declare’ by Dec. 6.  To enter your horse, or for more information, send an Email of interest to Chris Tully at: tullytrot@yahoo.com.

First Tracks Cumberland in Maine will transition to three days of harness racing each week (adding Fridays) beginning December 1 and continuing through Christmas Eve, 2023.  Post time remains 11 am.

For more information go to our website: https://firsttrackscumberland.com/

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