Veteran reinsman Drew Campbell skillfully secured lifetime driving victory number 6,000 on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Cumberland Raceway. In the 10th race on the card Campbell fed Sixfingerfreddie racetrack from the start and never looked back, tackling the lofty threshold.

Winning races at nearly 20 per cent, the native of Nova Scotia has been plying his trade in the states since the late 1980s and has driven in more than 30,000 races and earned in excess of $21 million in purses.  The benchmark victory came as the 57-year-old is poised to head south for the winter.

“I’m glad I got it done before the end of the year,” reacted the winter meet’s leading driver. “It’s a lot of hard work. My hat's off to all the drivers that have way more wins than me.”

Members of Maine’s tight-knit drivers colony were all on hand to congratulate one of their own on his career milestone. Known as an assertive driver who likes to ‘send em,’ his white-pant-wearing colleagues were quick to have some fun with the good-natured fellow.

“Wish Drew was a little more aggressive off the gate, otherwise he’d already have 10,000 wins,” quipped Walter Case Jr. with a laugh on one of the dozens of congratulatory posts that filled social media feeds shortly after his third win of the day.

Drew Campbell has literally been on fire since the winter meet began, racking up 32 wins with an .405 UDRS in just the last 12 racing dates.

“I have to thank the owners and trainers that have put their faith in me over the years,” Campbell stated. 

While he is grateful for the opportunities that have afforded him this significant accomplishment, he closed with, “My parents would be proud.”

Campbell started his Saturday hat trick with Valyrian Steel (2:01, $2.40) in race four, then grabbed the eighth with Love Kitten (2:00.3, $7.60) and copped number 6,000 two events later with Sixfingerfreddie. Trained and co-owned by Randy Bickmore (with Theresa Coulston) the seven-year-old son of Bettors Delight handily won the $8,451 co-featured Winners Over Pace in 1:58.2.  He paid $6.60 to win by 1-3/4 lengths over the favoured Varney (Nick Graffam) who finished second.

The $8,451 co-featured Winners Over Trot was captured by Jax Spratt in 2:01. Driven by Kevin Switzer Jr. for trainer Aaron Hall and owner Bill Phipps, the four-year-old son of Devious Man grabbed his 13th seasonal victory, paying $8.60 to win.

Sunday’s card has been cancelled due to inclement weather and will be raced on Monday, Dec. 9 at the regular post time. The postponed card boasts 10 divisions of various Pop-Up Series and the $4,000 USD Maine Amateur Driving Club race.

(with files from First Tracks Cumberland)