Scarborough, ME – With just two days remaining in the 2018 harness racing season at Scarborough Downs, year-end award recipients were announced on Friday (Dec. 7) as the staff at the seaside oval continued with the tradition of honoring achievement, while recognizing the excellence of the many performers who made the meet one of the most successful in recent years.

With 148 wins, Drew Campbell won leading driver honors at Scarborough Downs in 2018. Michael Newman photo.

Drew Campbell once again walked away with Scarborough’s Leading Driver title as the perennial powerhouse’s tally of 148 wins easily outdistanced the 80 scores amassed by runner-up Mitchell Cushing, who in his breakthrough season, is generally recognized as one of the industry’s rising stars.

Campbell’s dominance extended through all driving categories. From 487 starts, he topped out with: the most wins (148), highest purse earnings ($487,489), the gaudiest Universal Driver Rating (.473) and the leading win percentage after visiting the winner’s circle with 31.7 percent of his drives.

Top Trainer honors went to Bo Sowers, who served notice from the earliest portions of the meet that his roster would be a force to reckon with. His unprecedented blitz of five wins on the opening day card elevated him to the top of the leaderboard, a position that he would never relinquish throughout the entirety of the meet.

Bo Sowers was the leading trainer at the 2018 Scarborough Downs meet with 42 wins. Michael Newman photo.

From 192 starts, Sowers scored 42 wins while boasting a hefty .351 Universal Trainer Rating. His horses’ earnings totaled $126,460 on the year.

The Freeman Parker Award, which recognizes the Up-And-Coming Driver of the Year, goes to McGwire Sowers in 2018. The 18-year-old sensation wasted little time in making an impact at the Downs, piloting five winners down victory lane on opening day, catapulting himself to an early lead in the driver’s standings, a position that he held for much of the first month of the meet.

Sowers closed out his Scarborough season with 44 wins from 255 starts, finishing fifth on the year-end leaderboard.

The Loring Norton Award, which recognizes the Up-And-Coming Trainer of the Year, belongs to Christopher Petrelli. The 19-year-old conditioner won the very first race of the 2018 meet with Fox Valley Bailey (one of two wins from his roster on the opening day program) and closed out the season in seventh place with 19 top tallies.

JJs Jet was named Pacer of the Year for 2018 on the strength of his track record performance in Scarborough’s $25,000 Mid-Summer Classic. During a year when the big invitational horses seldom graced the seaside oval, the 9-year-old son of Jereme’s Jet-Northern Desire made the biggest splash, touring the raceway in a new track record of 1:52.3 with Drew Campbell at the helm, eclipsing the previous benchmark of 1:52.4 established 25 years ago by Hotrod Falcon and Walter Case, Jr., way back in 1993.

JJs Jet, a winner of three races from four seasonal starts at the Downs, is trained by James Dunn for owner Bruce Maxwell.

Nathaniel capped of a strong 2018 meeting at the Downs by securing Trotter of the Year honors. The 5-year-old son of Lear Jetta-Ponytail Xpress secured five top-level wins from 10 local appearances, including a 1:57.4 score in the $16,200 renewal of the Joseph Ricci Memorial.

The handsome chestnut trotter is trained by James Dunn for owner Linwood Higgins.

The leading lady of the meet was a mid-level pacer named Rockintheniteaway. A nine-time local winner, the daughter of Rocknroll Hanover-Best Of Ball was a gimmicks player’s dream come true throughout the entire season in 2018, factoring in the Scarborough pari-mutuels at an astounding 23 for 29 clip.

The Distaff Pacer of the Year is owned and trained by Gordon Du Bois Sr.

A battle tested veteran was named Claimer of the Year as Kid Courageous A continued to defy age all season long. The 14-year-old war horse scored an eye-popping 1:56.1 open-length victory on opening day at the Downs (a speed standard that was not eclipsed until well into the second month of the meet) and, with one local start remaining on Saturday (Dec. 8), amassed a record of 6-1-3 from 14 appearances.

The son of Bettor’s Delight-Talilia is owned and trained and driven by Dan Deslandes.

Live harness racing will be featured this coming Saturday (Dec. 8) and Sunday (Dec. 9) during closing weekend at Scarborough Downs with the 12th annual Standardbred Retirement Ceremony taking center stage on Saturday. Post time for both performances will be at 12:15 p.m. (EST).

The Downs will remain open for simulcast wagering on a seven-day-a-week schedule throughout the winter months with opening day of the 2019 live harness racing meet set for March 30. 2019.

For more information, visit www.ScarboroughDowns.com or visit our Facebook page.