June 1, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photos)
CUMBERLAND, ME – Cumberland Raceway fans were reminded that age is only a number on Saturday (May 31) as 87-year-old Bob Nadeau made his way to the winners circle once again at the iconic Southern Maine oval.

Nadeau, driving his own mare Azariya, left little to chance as he left swiftly in the opener. Grabbing the lead in a $4,000 leg of the Moosehead Pacing Series, the 5-year-old daughter of Lazarus N set opening fractions of :29.3 and 1:01.3.
Down the backstretch and heading to the three-quarter pole CBF Bantam (2-1, Bruce Ranger) had pulled the pocket and was challenging for the lead, poking a head in front for a brief spell. Following a 1:31 third panel, Nadeau summoned his mare’s second gear and she responded with a closing kick to add a few lengths of separation between the pair and the rest of the field.
Down the lane, everyone’s favorite Octogenarian urged his mare to keep rolling as she hit the timer in 2:02.3, scoring by two lengths. Also owned and trained by Nadeau the mare paid $5.80 to win.

Bob Nadeau has been driving horses since the mid-1970’s and has captured 171 victories in six decades of participation. Last year Nadeau had 6 wins in 28 starts and enjoyed a 0.238 UDRS, primarily while campaigning fan favorite Putnams Storm and Azariya.
A concrete salesman by trade, he told this scribe that he still does 20 pull ups every day, reminding us all that you are only as old as you feel.
Hunter Lofthus won another $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) event, scoring with Benson Merrill’s Art of Endurance in 2:02.4. They paid $2.60 to win. The MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed stores of North Falmouth and Windham, Maine.
The trio of $6,500 co-featured Baxter Pacing Series were captured by: Control The Piper (2:01, $4.20), Arts Flight (2:00.3, $2.20), and The Big Aristotle (1:58, $8.80).
Rockland Pacing Series legs at $6,000 each were won by: Mr Beast (1:58.2, $5.60), Dinner Party (1:58.2, $3.00), and Valentino Of Leda (1:59.3, $8.00).
Both the Baxter and the Rockland series enjoy $12,500 finals next Saturday (June 7).
Drivers Drew Campbell and McGwire Sowers both had three trips each to the winners circle, as did trainer Benson Merrill. Sowers leads all drivers during the Spring-Summer meet with 27 wins, followed by Drew Campbell and Nick Graffam with 21 apiece. Autym Robinson is the leading trainer with 20 wins, followed by Merrill (16) and Andrew Harrington (12).
Replays can be found on our website: firsttrackscumberland.com on the Live Racing / Video Replays tab.
Racing resumes on Friday (June 6) at Cumberland.
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.