December 12, 2024 – by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
CUMBERLAND, ME – Cumberland Raceway’s next to last weekend kicks off on Friday (Dec. 13) and has significant purse increases, due in large part to the second legs of over a dozen pop-up series divisions.
The first of three weekend cards carries nine races with five $6,000 divisions of TrackMaster rating or conditioned paces, with several of the filly and mare participants looking to repeat their visits to the winners circle. In the $5,500 top F&M class, both Vel Miss Taylor (7-2, McGwire Sowers) and South St Dottie (5-2, Nick Graffam) come off of wins in that class and will look to keep early favorite Windydayatthebeach (9-5, Drew Campbell) at bay.
The action continues on Saturday (Dec. 14) with a 10-race card, which includes a $6,500 Winners Over Trot. The early morning line favorite is Jax Spratt (5-2, Kevin Switzer Jr.) who never looked back last week while leaving from pylon position. Empereurthebest FR (3-1, Walter Case Jr.) and Inquiring Mind (7-2, Steve Wilson) are also coming off of wins last week.
There is also a $6,000 Winners Over Pace on Saturday, led by Varney (2-1, Nick Graffam) who has earned $66,160 this year and been 18 times 1-2-3 in 32 outings. The second choice, and last week’s victor, is Sixfingerfreddie (3-1) who gave hot driver Drew Campbell his 6,000th career victory.
Sunday’s (Dec. 8) card boasts nine divisions of the various pop-up series, with purses ranging from $6,000 to $8,000 and the $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club race.
On each of the three racing days the Pick 5 starts with the third race, continues with our Pick 4 and Pick 3 toward the tail end of the program, and concludes with our High-Five Pentafecta in the final race—all with low 16% takeouts.
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, with a total of 12 entries to be paraded in front of their Maine fan base.
For more information go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com, or find us on Facebook: @FirstTracksCumberland
