First Tracks Cumberland will honour the iconic and daring Maine harness driver Leigh Fitch with a memorial race on Saturday, Nov. 9. The purse of $7,592 USD reflects the dash win total of his storied career, with a large contingent of family and friends expected to be on hand to pay homage to Fitch, who passed away on Oct. 26 at the age of 79.
Journalist Jay Burns wrote, “His daring, rail-hugging driving style propelled him to 7,592 victories and more than anyone’s share of driving spills during a 53-year career. Fitch was one of the first great catch-drivers in Maine, emerging a few years before Billy Parker Jr.”
Burns continued, “But speed and the front end were not what made Fitch famous in Maine. Instead, his style was iconoclastic, in keeping with his personality: independent, stubborn and cagey. ‘I didn’t want to be like the others. I wanted to be myself.’ At a time when the perfect drive was the gentlemanly second-over trip described by Billy Haughton in the harness racing manual Care and Training of the Trotter and Pacer, Fitch’s insurgent style disrupted that model, gaining him the nickname ‘The Fox.’ Rarely flushed off the rail, Fitch instead was often a rail skimmer who mastered the art of anticipating the opening of a seam late in the mile, using athletic reflexes and exquisite timing to feed his horse open racetrack. Fitch once said that, ‘Winning was life or death for me,’ and his driving style, safe but daring, meant brushes with the latter. It was the era of the wooden hub rail, and any driver working the inside late in the mile needed steely nerves.”
The Leigh Fitch Memorial, slated as race eight, features a group of top class of "winners over" pacers who have collectively earned over $1.17 million and three with sub-1:51 time badges. The early morning line favourite is Hespoisedtopounce A (3-2, Aaron Hall), who scores from post five. Trained by Jimmy Nickerson for owners Tim Bojarski and Tony Gruppo, the eight-year-old son of Bettors Delight has two wins and eight cheques in his last 10 starts.
Inside of the favourite is Vel Letsroll South (5-2, McGwire Sowers), who is trained by Autym Robinson for Mo Coo Inc., and enters the fray off a win in his last start. A horse who also warrants consideration is Denver Seelster (9-2, Nick Graffam), who leaves from pylon position for trainer Chris Dubois and owner Mary Fernald.
The presentation will be made by special guest Chaplain Lee Alphen from the Christian Harness Horsemen’s Association.
Of course, the entire program has a lot of action for horseplayers with eight events boasting full seven or eight-horse fields. The Pick 5 starts with the third race and has a $605 carryover; the Pick 4 highlights the seventh, and a High-Five Pentafecta in the 10th and final race are all offered with 16 per cent takeout.
The action continues on Sunday, Nov. 10 with another 10-race card of full fields.
(First Tracks Cumberland)