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.
