July 6, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland

(Joe Shaw photos)

CUMBERLAND, ME – Cumberland Raceway put on a blockbuster card with over $112,000 in total purses on Saturday (July 5), with an entire day filled with lucrative late closer finals and three divisions of the Maine Sires Stakes.

Always At My Place tripped out to take the $15,000 Portland Pacing Series late closer final in a seasonal-best equaling 1:56.3.

Scoring from post five, the 14-year-old son of Always A Virgin sat a perfect two-hole trip behind pacesetter Dinner Party (2-1, Drew Campbell) to tip out around the final turn and score handily by 2-1/4 lengths.

Driven by Bruce Ranger for owner-trainer Scott Vickerson, it was his fifth win of the year, and the 72^nd lifetime victory for the veteran pacer who paid $6.20 to win.

JL’s Rock Star (14-1, McGwire Sowers) finished second; Sheriff N (2-1, Kevin Switzer Jr.) was third.

The $12,500 Bar Harbor final was captured by Windemere Ryan in 1:57.1.  Kevin Switzer Jr. guided the pacer from pillar to post for trainer Chris DuBois and owner Steve Rybka.  He paid $5.20.

Bruce Ranger took the overland route with Whata Twist to swoop the field and grab the $12,500 Moosehead final in 2:00.  Owned and trained by Mark Harris, he paid $5.80.

JS Peyton won the $12,500 Acadia Trotting Series final in 2:01.3.  Driven by Nick Graffam for trainer Benson Merrill and owners Bill Tracy, and John and Thelma Kiernan, it was a wire to wire score paying $4.80.

In Maine Sire Stakes action for 3-year-old trotters, Liberty’s Wildcard got his third win in a row while taking the $11,751 colt and gelding trot.  Driven by Kevin Switzer Jr., the son of Noble Venture made every call a winning one for trainer Marc Tardif and owner Leighton Property.  He was bred by Jerry Stratton Jr. and paid $2.20 as the 1/9 heavy favorite.

Katahdin Victory (Wally Watson) finished second; Just Foolin (Heath Campbell) was third.

The ‘bells’ tolled in both the $11,000-plus Maine Sire Sires for 3-year-old trotting fillies as Belabelle scored her second stakes win of the season for trainer-driver Eric Bickmore.  The daughter of Noble Venture was an easy winner in 2:06.4 for owner Bill Phipps, scoring by 3-1/2 lengths.   She paid $6.20 for the win and was bred in Maine by Stephen F. Hall.

Twisted Fate (4/5, Mike Cushing) finished second; Lady Lake Marty (2-1, Ken Watson) was third.

In the second $11,699 division Barbella overcame an early miscue to bounce back and trot home strongly in 2:05.2.  Driven by Bruce Ranger for trainer Ken Anderson and owner Bob Zakian, the daughter of Whataworkout picked up her second consecutive victory, paying $5.40.  She was bred by the late Mike Andrew.

The pacesetter Little Shot (9/5, Ivan Davies) finished second; Race Me Bombshell (15-1, Drew Campbell) was third.

Driver Bruce Ranger led all drivers with three wins on the program.  McGwire Sowers leads all drivers after 13 weeks of racing with 43 wins.  Drew Campbell is second with 29, followed by Aaron Hall with 27.  Autym Sowers is the meet’s leading conditioner with 31 victories.

Live video and replays can be found on the track’s website: firsttrackscumberland.com on the Live Racing / Video Replays tab.

First Track’s Cumberland Spring/Summer meet will continue throughout the Spring and early Summer months with regular racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend.  First post is slated for 3:15 pm (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through August 2.

July 5, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photos)

CUMBERLAND, ME – Maine’s fresh crop of 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings put on a show during Friday’s (July 4) Independence Day card at Cumberland Raceway, opening the program with two $10,500 divisions of the Maine Sires Stakes.

In the first division Kevin Switzer Jr. and 1/2 favorite Real Horrorshow sprinted to the lead with authority and pulled the field into a :29.3 opening panel.  Rebel’s Revenge (16-1, Aaron Hall) sat loose in the pocket with Itsjustmoney (5-2, Dave Ingraham) tracking along in third.

As Real Horrorshow put the group of green pacers to sleep with a 1:02.4 half, the son of Dude’s The Man was able to gain a three-length degree of separation from his followers into the 1:32.4 third stanza.  Silence ofdarkness (19-1, McGwire Sowers) pulled first over with Daytoremember (4-1, Heath Campbell) grabbing that cover in the outer flow as the group approached the final turn.

Down the stretch Real Horrorshow had a comfortable margin but Daytoremember had sling shot three-wide around the final turn and was bearing down on the leader.  The wire arrived with the pacesetter prevailing by 2-3/4 lengths in 2:04, giving Real Horrorshow a new lifetime mark.

Trained by Kevin Switzer Sr. for owners KDK Standardbreds, Kathleen Mofield and Anthony Sivik Jr., he paid $3.00 to win.

Bred by Luke and Patricia Varnun, ‘horrorshow’ is the phonetic spelling of ‘good’ in the language of Nadset, which was the dialect spoken in the 1971 cult classic film Clockwork Orange.  Real Horrorshow is from the Varnum’s Yankee Cruiser mare Pretty Eyes p,3,1:51.4 ($96,242) and is considered one of their favorite horses.

In the second $10,500 division, as expected Dude’s The Jet (1/2, Sowers) forged onto the lead, but not before some heavy lifting to get past Nuh Uh (7-1, Aaron Hall) and Quint Asper (6-1, Andrew Harrington) who had strategically protected their inside positions.

Dude’s The Jet finally grabbed command past the :29.3 opening panel, with Quint Asper enjoying a pocket trip and Nuh Uh sitting third.  As the field approached the 1:01.1 half mile marker, Switzer Jr. began his march forward with Ghost Of Winter (11-1) who had been trailing the field.

Past the 1:31.2 third station Dude’s The Jet enjoyed a comfortable margin but the challenge of Ghost Of Winter was short-lived allowing Nuh Uh to squeeze off the pylons and take it to the pacesetter.

The pair of freshmen pacers fought tooth and nail down the stretch with Nuh Uh having the momentum and the trip to upend the leader and prevail by three parts of a length in 2:03.1.

Owned and trained by Marc Tardif, the score established a new lifetime mark for the son of Deuce Seelster, who paid a handsome $16.60 to win.  He was bred in Maine by Gary and Kristina Hall.

Stable mate Dude’s The Jet finished second; Quint Asper was third.

Due to heavy rain last Saturday, a host of late closing series finals and consolations, were postponed and rescheduled for this week.  The Saturday (July 5) purses add up to $110,000 over the twelve-race card, which starts at the regular time of 3:15 pm.

The live harness racing includes four $12,500-plus finals of various late closing series, as well as three $10,500 divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for 3-year-old trotters. 

In Pine Tree State-bred action, three horses (two fillies and one colt) will try to maintain their current two-stakes race winning streaks.  Lady Lake Marty (2-1, Ken Watson) in race one; Pandemic Princess (2-1, Heath Campbell) in race three; and Liberty’s Wildcard (1-1, Kevin Switzer Jr.) in race five, have all had everything their own way leading up to this week.  Only time, and perhaps the different venue, will tell the tale.

In overnight action, the richest of the four late closing series finals, the $15,000 Portland Pacing Series could see a repeat performance by the winner of the $12,500 Rockland series final, Dinner Party (5/2, Drew Campbell).  The 6-year-old son of American Ideal boasts five wins, four seconds and $25,540 in earnings this year.  He will have to tangle with the peaking Sheriff N (3-1, Switzer Jr.) who has won his last three but scores from post six.  Gate speed may tell the tale, as Always At My Place (9-2, Bruce Ranger) has shown he possesses while winning his previous leg in 1:56.3

For punters, there is a Trifecta in all races, and the program also features a plethora of exotic wagers.  Cumberland’s Pick 5 begins with the third race, and 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.

Live video and replays can be found on our website: firsttrackscumberland.com on the Live Racing / Video Replays tab.

First Track’s Cumberland Spring/Summer meet will continue throughout the Spring and early Summer months with regular racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend.  First post is slated for 3:15 pm (EDT) (except July 4 which is 2:15 pm) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through August 2.