The players came out to play at Bangor Raceway on Wednesday, July 1 as an all time record handle of $246,172 USD was pushed over the counters at historic Bass Park. 

The record $246,172 USD handle heralded the 20th consecutive $100,000 USD plus handle day recorded at Bangor Raceway this season and vastly eclipsed May 3’s then high water mark of $187,609 USD.

“It was a good day,” stated Thomas Smith, Bangor’s Director of Racing.“It’s gratifying to find that the wagering public has discovered and continues to support the harness racing product at Bangor Raceway.

“Full, competitive fields combined with state-of-the-art simulcast production, strategic post times, ample publicity and a supportive and talented horseman/horsewoman population have combined to allow Bangor Raceway to provide this attractive experience to the wagering public. We appreciate their vote of approval and pledge to continue to work diligently to keep and build upon their support.”

Highlights on the well-received 12-race program included a pair of Maine Sires Stakes divisions for three-year-old filly pacers won by the undefeated Snowonthepines and Just Delightful while trainer Jamie Gerard teamed up with driver Aaron Hall to score a rare grand slam combination.

Snowonthepines, the unbeaten three-year-old Maine-bred pacing filly, was barred from the wagering in just her third start of the year at Bangor, a track decision that had little effect on the outcome.

With regular driver Kevin Switzer Jr. out of town, Bruce Ranger got the call in the $22,049 division of the Maine Sire Stakes. Leaving with the same dominance as in her previous outings, the daughter of Dudes The Man-Snow Cone A set swift early fractions of :27.4 and :58 in the first circuit, having been pressed in the early going by eventual pocket-sitter Ekorus (Nick Graffam), the 1-5 betting favourite from the inside post.

Past the half and heading down the backstretch, Shes A Firefly (Andy Harrington) moved first-over and got to the head of Ekorus into a 1:27.1 third panel, with Snowonthepines putting five lengths between herself and her pursuers.

With no apparent threat to her dominance, Snowonthepines cruised down the Bass Park homestretch. Unfettered, she glided across the wire by 6-1/4 lengths the best in 1:56.4, a new lifetime best. Ekorus finished second and Graceofspades (Dave Ingraham) got up to be third.

After winning all nine of her races at two, Snowonthepines has three wins this season, putting her lifetime earnings at nearly $170,000 for trainer Marc Tardif and owner/breeder Leighton Property of Waterboro, Main. 

In the other $21,727 division, the 4-5 favourite Dudelookslikeafily looked like she was going to have things her own way. Driver Aaron Hall sent the bettors' choice right to the top in an instant and led the field through opening panels of :29 and :59.4 to the half, while 9-5 second choice Just Delightful and Ron Cushing were pressing onward first-over from the start.

Heath Campbell tipped Heymickeyyousofine to grab that second-over cover while heading to the midway point. Approaching the 1:29.2 third panel a ‘hung out to dry’ and determined Just Delightful looked the leader right in the eye. Off the turn, Heymickeyyousofine tipped three-wide with Just Delightful still engaging the leader Dudelookslikeafily.

With all three horses battling for supremacy down the homestretch, Just Delightful, who was parked out every step of the way, dug in and got up under the shadow of the wire to prevail by a quarter-length in 1:59. The winning time was a new lifetime mark for the daughter of Western Maverick-Shesjustadelight N. Dudelookslikeafily hung on for second and Heymickeyyousofine was third. 

Trained by Heidi Cushing, the two-time winner from 11 career starts is owned by her driver along with Stephen Downey of Quispamsis, N.B., and Anthony & Joseph Romanelli of Flushing, New York. She returned $5.60 to win.

Fans also witnessed an outstanding team effort from driver Aaron Hall, who piloted four winners home from trainer Jamie Gerard’s well-conditioned roster.

The Hall/Gerard juggernaut included scores by Quan Blue Chip ($6), who fiercely fought his way through a :58.1 back-half to secure the thrilling first-over victory in 1:58.3; Twin B High Tech ($3.20), who soared gate-to-wire in 1:59 to claim his seventh seasonal win over stablemate Commander Cathy N; Echos Sharkie ($5), who took a bite out of the competition while prowling the front-end and sinking his teeth into his fifth win of the year in a 1:56.4 mile; and Polyester ($3.80), who proved the genuine deal despite his synthetic fiber name, catching the breezes on the point to claim a seasonal-best clocking of 1:56.4.

Hall’s four driving wins elevated him into a first-place tie with Heath Campbell atop the Bangor Raceway leaderboard with both teamsters boasting 36 local wins. Hall, who recently secured the 1,000th driving win of his career also sports a gaudy .397 UDRS while leading all Bangor pilots in seasonal purse earnings with $171,375 USD banked.

Gerard, who cracked Bangor’s top 10 leaderboard listing on Wednesday, impressively sports a hefty .641 UTRS, while his charges have now hit-the-board in 19 of 22 starts.

Live harness racing at Bangor Raceway during the month of July will be conducted on  a two-day-per-week schedule, featuring the return of the popular Sunday matinees with the early 12:10 p.m. post time. The Wednesday cards will go to post at 3 p.m.

(With files from Bangor Raceway & Maine Sires Stakes; photo of Snowonthepines winning on July 1)