November 22, 2024 – by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland

CUMBERLAND, ME – The 13-race Saturday (Nov. 23) card at Cumberland Raceway is bursting with entries, with local favorite Katelyn’s Angel leading the $5,000 co-featured conditioned pace, and the similarly prized conditioned trot comprised of horses that hail from a wide variety of jurisdictions.

Leading the pack in the seventh race trot from pylon position is Jim Dunn’s Empereurthebest FR (2-1, Walter Case Jr.) who is coming off a win in his last start.  The French-bred trotter is owned by Stanley Bubier and immigrated to the United States as part of the Joe Faraldo-led, Yonkers Raceway horse exchange of 2022.  Since his time stateside, the 10-year-old son of Un Amour D’haufor has earned well over $70,000 and trotted in 1:54 at Philly.  A winner of 17 races lifetime and four this season, he is moving up in class from last week’s victory against a softer group.

To My Credit (4-1, Steve Wilson) also won his last outing on Maine soil, and the 4-year-old son of New York’s preeminent Credit Winner has five wins on the season.  The always powerful Team Athearn sends Royally Raised (4-1, Mark Athearn) into the mix, who has been alternating between his home track and Plainridge.  Sires of the other entrants come from as far west as Indiana, and from the opposite direction in Prince Edward Island.  All-in-all, Saturday’s seventh race is shaping up to be a very competitive group.

The co-featured tenth race $5,000 conditioned pace sees Katelyn’s Angel (5-2, Aaron Hall) installed as the early choice.  Freshened up after a three-month hiatus, the 4-year-old daughter of Western Maverick looks to return to her previous, summer-time form where she paced in 1:55.4 over the iconic Southern Maine oval.  Finishing 1-2-3 in 12 of 14 seasonal outings, the Benson Merrill-trainee is owned and was bred in Maine by Leighton Property.  She has earned $171,590 lifetime, with 15 career victories.

Cash Crazy Express (7-2, Drew Campbell) is listed as the early second choice.  The 8-year-old daughter of Art Major was beaten by just a half-length last week by Vel Miss Taylor (9-2, McGwire Sowers) who drew post seven this week.  The 4-year-old black Ponder mare hails from the barn of red-hot trainer Autym Robinson, who has grabbed eight wins in 20 starts at Cumberland during the current Winter meet.  The fresh-faced, twenty-something conditioner boasts an impressive .517 UTRS.

The entire program has a lot of action for horse players with 11 of 13 events boasting full seven or eight horse fields.  The Pick 5 starts with the third race; our Pick 4 highlights the tenth, and our High-Five Pentafecta in the final race—all with low 16% takeouts.

The action continues on Sunday (Nov. 24) with a 12-race card of full fields, which includes a $5,500 conditioned pace and a $4,000 leg of the Maine Amateur Driving Club with series leader Hunter Lofthus scoring from post seven with Hunting Angels.

First Tracks Cumberland’s Winter Festival extended pari-mutuel meeting enjoys weekend action throughout the month of November.  Then, Cumberland Raceway will transition to three days of harness racing each week (Fri-Sat-Sun) beginning December 6.  The 19-day meet continues through Dec. 22, 2024, and post time is always 10:55 am.  Our popular Au Revoir Retirement Ceremonies are slated for Saturday, Dec. 21.

For more information go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com, or find us on Facebook: @FirstTracksCumberland