It’s still six weeks until Halloween, but when the 184th Farmington Fair opened on Monday, Sept. 15, fans were treated to a Real Horrorshow… Maine’s freshman pacing sensation won his eighth consecutive stakes race.

In the first $23,783 division of the Maine Sire Stakes for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings, driver Kevin Switzer Jr. sent his dad’s undefeated rookie Real Horrorshow right to the top from post six. From that point, it was all over but the shouting as the young phenom made every call a winning one, setting early fractions of :30.4 and 1:01.3 to the half.

Perhaps Real Horrorshow was allowing his prey to stalk him in the early going, because once Switzer asked for a little more, he got a lot more. Hitting the third panel in 1:31.3 and leaving the field in his dusty wake by 9-1/2 lengths, the divisional star cruised home an easy winner in 2:01.4. Silence Of Darkness (Mike Stevenson) finished second and Deuces Red (Heath Campbell) was third in the non-wagering event.

Trained by Kevin Switzer Sr., and owned by KDK Standardbreds, Kathleen Mofield and Anthony Sivik Jr., Real Horrorshow has never seen the back of a helmet while earning nearly $80,000 in eight career starts. The son of Dudes The Man and Pretty Eyes was bred in Maine by Luke and Patricia Varnum.

In the second $23,539 division of the Maine Sire Stakes, which was held on the betting program at Farmington, Daytoremember finally got a day to shine having drawn into a different division than that of his undefeated peer.

Wowzah Clousah (Mike Cushing) led the field away from the wings and through the first turn from post two; however, driver Heath Campbell had no intention of getting a pocket trip and sent favourite Daytoremember out to take command by the time the field hit the :29.1 opening station.

Campbell relaxed his charge on the point and rolled comfortably into a softer 1:00.2 midway marker, with the rest of the field following along in straight alignment. Just past the half, driver Andy Harrington sent Rebels Revenge first-over to challenge the pocket-sitting Wowzah Clousah as the pack rolled down the backstretch for the final time.

The pacesetter increased his tempo and hit the third stanza in 1:30.1, while the rest of the aggressors tried valiantly to maintain the pace. However, it was all Daytoremember as he drew off by 3-1/2 lengths to score in a lifetime-best 2:00. Wowzah Clousah finished second and Rebels Revenge was third.

Owned, trained and bred by Valerie Grondin, the Dudes The Man-Paxxie colt grabbed his second victory of the season, which compliments his ultra-consistent six second-place finishes, lifting his earnings over the $50,000 mark. He paid $3.40 to win.

(With files from Maine Sire Stakes)