Bangor Raceway will host the $400,000+(USD) Maine Sire Stakes finals with four three-year-old Pine Tree State-bred events on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Once again, trainer Marc Tardif will send a star with an unblemished record into the $101,174 USD Maine Sire Stakes final for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Massive Speed has maintained a perfect record in the state of Maine and the son of Dudes The Man-Machmeter has been pegged as the 3-2 early morning line favourite in race two. Regular reinsman Aaron Hall gets the driving duties on the winner of 11 Maine races and more than $100,000.
Likely to be the heavy favourite by post time, Massive Speed will score from post three, where he is surrounded by three other Tardif trainees: Cheatin Fate (Post 2, 7-1, Kevin Switzer Jr.), Dawn Two Dark (Post 5, 9-2, Andy Harrington) and No Guts No Glory (Post 7, 12-1, Mike Stevenson).
Race five pits this year’s top male trotter, Libertys Wildcard, against last year’s freshman champion Whatawonder.
Tardif will send Libertys Wildcard into the $100,876 USD Maine Sire Stakes final for three-year-old colt and gelding trotters, with the winner of 11 of 12 races listed as the 4-5 early morning line favourite. The seasonal earner of more than $100,000 will be driven by Kevin Switzer Jr. The son of Noble Venture-Race Me Liberty will score from post two and sports a winning streak of five in a row.
Whatawonder has been chasing the aforementioned favourite all year and has finished second in his last four outings for driver Ken Watson and trainer Lisa Watson. The son of Whataworkout-Molly McGuire, who was a perfect 10-for-10 last year, is listed as 3-1 from post seven.
Race seven continues with the diagonal set, bringing divisional leader Barbella to face six other rivals in the $101,122 USD Maine Sire Stakes final for three-year-old trotting fillies.
The daughter of Whataworkout-Knella Bella has won 10 of 14 races this year with six-figure earnings. She will score from post three with driver Kevin Switzer Jr. up for trainer Ken Anderson and is the 4-5 favourite.
Ivan Davies’ Little Shot (Post 2) is the second choice at 4-1 and has been keeping up with the divisional standout throughout the season.
The $101,153 USD Maine Sire Stakes final for three-year-old pacing fillies is the concluding event for Pine Tree State-bred Standardbreds, led by 9-5 favourite Leanne Marie.
Trained and co-owned by Charlene ‘Sherry’ Cushing and driven by Mike Cushing, the daughter of Artistic Fella-Zoe Blue Chip has been nothing short of sensational in the waning months of the series. With five wins in her last six starts, the winner of more than $100,000 this year has post two and will likely utilize her snappy gate speed to control the tempo.
The Graffam’s Chasing Dudes (Post 5, 2-1) will surely give the favourite a run for her money as she has six wins of her own this year, to go with just over $86,000 in earnings.
The Maine Sire Stakes finals represent the culmination of years of hard work and dedication of behalf of dozens of industry stakeholders, including, but not limited to the owners, breeders, trainers, drivers and caretakers of these equine athletes. Not only do these horses represent a significant individual and collective investment in harness racing and agriculture in the state of Maine, but the peripheral revenue generated by the truck and trailer sales and maintenance, fuel suppliers, feed companies, hay producers, tack shops, blacksmiths, farm owners and racetracks that give them a place to compete, generously exceeds seven figures annually.
(With files from Maine Sire Stakes, photo Massive Speed)