Two divisions of three-year-old pacing colts and geldings in the Maine Sire Stakes convened under sunny skies on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Bangor Raceway before the regular card.

This season’s “Glamour Boys” division, as they are affectionately called, has been a battle for supremacy between leading point earner Daytoremember and freshmen champion Real Horrorshow, who is a close second. This week, they drew into separate divisions, thus each colt was able to advance their own agenda.

In the first $24,214 division, Real Horrorshow romped in typical wire-to-wire fashion for driver Kevin Switzer Jr. Leaving swiftly to grab the lead, the son of Dudes The Man-Pretty Eyes set opening fractions of :29.4 and :59.3. Past the half, Deuces Red (Mike Stevenson) rolled first-over and found himself within a half-length of the pacesetter as the field approached the 1:29.1 third panel. But that was all for show because Switzer Jr. gave his charge the cue to continue and Real Horrorshow responded with a :29 final quarter, tripping the timer in 1:58.1 while prevailing by 1-1/2 lengths and avenging last week’s defeat. Itsjustmoney (Andy Harrington) rallied for second while Dudes The Jet (Joey Mosher) took third over fading Deuces Red, who completed the field that was reduced by a pair of scratches.

Capturing his seventh win of the season in 10 starts and his 16th career victory, Real Horrorshow increased his lifetime earnings to $234,744. Trained by Kevin Switzer Sr., the gelding is owned by KDK Standardbreds of Cumberland, Maine, Kathleen Mofield of Bedford, Massachusetts and Anthony Sivik Jr. of Orono, Maine.

In the second $24,214 division for sophomore male pacers, another non-wagering event, it was déjà vu all over again as Daytoremember enjoyed another pillar-to-post victory on his home turf. Protecting his pylon starting position, Heath Campbell sent his charge out for a tour of historic Bass Park, admiring the quarter station in :28.4 and glancing at the 1:00 half before any other tourists decided to join the party. Down the backstretch the final time, Nuh Uh (Andy Harrington) had tried valiantly to improve his position as he led the outer flow into a 1:29.1 third panel. However, Campbell tapped the accelerator on Daytoremember and the gelding sprinted home in :28.1 to win by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:57.2.  Ghost Of Winter (Joey Mosher) sat a pocket trip to retain second and Nuh Uh finished third.

Daytoremember, a homebred son of Dudes The Man out of Paxxie, is owned and trained by Valerie Grondin. He picked up his eighth seasonal victory in 10 starts to bring his lifetime totals to 10 wins and $172,123 in earnings. 

Daytoremember continues to lead Real Horrorshow by 25 points in the divisional standings.

The regular 12-race card was filled with highlights from the Benson Merrill roster, including 11-year-old trotter J S Peyton, who hit pay dirt for the 55th time in his career with a seasonal best 2:00.3 score in rein to Joey Mosher. Merrill’s other winners included a pair piloted by Kevin Switzer Jr. -- Century Liberty ($2.80), who won for the sixth time this season in 1:57.1, and most impressively, Massive Speed ($3.20), who took top honours in the second leg of the $11,111 Fred Nichols Pacing Series with 1:54.3 front-end effort.

Trainer Autym Sowers happily celebrated her 31st birthday at the track on Wednesday by sending three winners from her well-heeled stable down Victory Lane. The Sowers stampede, all corralled by driver McGwire Sowers, included scores from Skyway Freakshow ($4.40), who claimed her 14th win of the season (currently tied for fourth most in North America) with a 1:56.3 victory; Parklane Terror ($4.60), who cruised through a devastatingly effective :57 back-half after lulling the field through a :59.3 opening circuit to score in 1:56.3; and At Any Cost ($3.80), who continued his rise through the claiming classes while securing his third consecutive victory in 1:55.2.

Bangor Raceway now embarks on a one-month hiatus but will swing back into action beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 14 with post time slated for 2:30 p.m. Bangor will then play host to the $400,000+ USD Maine Sire Stakes sophomore championships on Saturday, Oct. 17 during a card which will also include the $20,000 USD final of the Nichols Series, with post time slated for 3 p.m. Racing will then continue at Bangor on a three-day-per-week schedule through the first week in November. 

In the meantime, the Maine Sire Stakes transitions back to the fairs with a week of action at Farmington starting with the three-year-old filly pacers on Monday, Sept. 21, followed by all of the trotters on Wednesday, Sept. 23

(With files from Maine Sire Stakes & Bangor Raceway; photo of Daytoremember winning on Sept. 16)