Cumberland Raceway’s next to last weekend kicks off on Friday (Dec. 13) and has significant purse increases, due in large part to the second legs of over a dozen pop-up series divisions.

The first of three weekend cards carries nine races with five $6,000 USD divisions of TrackMaster rating or conditioned paces, with several of the filly and mare participants looking to repeat their visits to the winners circle.  In the $5,500 USD top F&M class, both Vel Miss Taylor (7-2, McGwire Sowers) and South St Dottie (5-2, Nick Graffam) come off of wins in that class and will look to keep early favourite Windydayatthebeach (9-5, Drew Campbell) at bay.

The action continues on Saturday (Dec. 14) with a 10-race card, which includes a $6,500 USD Winners Over Trot.  The early morning line favourite is Jax Spratt (5-2, Kevin Switzer Jr.) who never looked back last week while leaving from pylon position.  Empereurthebest FR (3-1, Walter Case Jr.) and Inquiring Mind (7-2, Steve Wilson) are also coming off of wins last week.

There is also a $6,000 USD Winners Over Pace on Saturday, led by Varney (2-1, Nick Graffam) who has earned $90,827 this year and been 18 times 1-2-3 in 32 outings.  The second choice, and last week’s victor, is Sixfingerfreddie (3-1) who gave hot driver Drew Campbell his 6,000th career victory. 

Sunday’s (Dec. 8) card boasts nine divisions of the various pop-up series, with purses ranging from $6,000 USD to $8,000 USD and the $4,000 USD Maine Amateur Driving Club race.

On each of the three racing days the Pick 5 starts with the third race, 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.

The 19-day meet continues through Dec. 22, 2024, and post time is always 10:55 a.m.  The popular Au Revoir Retirement Ceremonies are slated for Saturday, Dec. 21, with a total of 12 entries to be paraded in front of their Maine fan base.