May 22, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photo)

CUMBERLAND, ME – Over the last six weeks Cumberland Raceway has enjoyed brisk participation on both the racetrack and at the windows on Fridays, and this week is no exception.  The upcoming program has five of eleven races dedicated to the diagonal gate.  With Memorial Day weekend the unofficial start of summer, both the Friday (May 23) and Saturday (May 24) cards will show that charcoal grills won’t be the only things getting fired up!

A sure sign of summer is the return of the training-driving team of Valerie Grondin and Heath Campbell.  Back from their Bell, Florida enclave, and following a few outings down the Turnpike, the Pine Tree State stalwarts bring last season’s Maine Sire Stakes sophomore trotting filly champion Pembroke Breeze to Cumberland for a confidence builder. 

The 4-year-old daughter of Pembroke Slugger takes on a slew of older geldings in the $4,800 fourth race conditioned trot, and is listed as the 2-1 early morning line favorite.  With 8 wins in 11 starts last year and over $114,000 earned, the talented distaff is sure to cause some gusty winds at the windows.  She is now owned by Brenda Varney, and was bred in Maine by the late industry leader Bill Varney.

Friday’s card also features the $5,500 fifth race conditioned trot with Empereurthebest FR (2-1, Walter Case Jr.) looking for a softer landing after chasing tougher company at Plainridge.  Trained by James Dunn, the French-bred trotter made it look easy winning in 2:00 flat from post seven last month.  The 5-2 second choice on the morning line is Big Al M (Zach Vickerson) who was parked the last half and still won his last start.  The 9-2 third choice is Inquiring Mind (Steve Wilson) who moves up in class after a decisive victory last week.

In the $4,800 tenth race mare pace, Vel Miss Taylor (8-5, McGwire Sowers) puts her three-race winning streak on the line against fan favorite and former Maine Sire Stakes champion Gowestyounggrace (5-2, Dave Ingraham) who is also coming off a victory.

The action kicks off at 3:15 pm on Friday, with a Trifecta in every race and also includes several 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.

Saturday’s (May 24) card also carries 11 events with the popular $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) event slated as race four.  Zach Vickorson drives the 9-5 favorite Dark Matter from post two, followed by second choice Ten Beaches Later (3-1) with Hunter Lofthus who is the current point leader in the series.  The MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed stores of North Falmouth and Windham, Maine. 

In the $5,500 featured eighth race conditioned pace, the powerful Autym Robinson stable sends out Hypnoticdream (2-1, McGwire Sowers) from post four.  The 8-year-old son of Hypnotic Blue Chip emigrates from the Bay State and should be the one to beat in here.  His primary threat will come in the form of Gabe Hanover (5-2, Walter Case Jr.) who took a 1:51.3f record last season, and is still looking to break into the win column this year.

Next week’s (Tuesday) draw includes several lucrative late closing series to choose from, most with $12,500 finals.  Three events start on May 31 and continue through the month of June.  More information can be found on our website, firsttrackscumberland.com.

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.