Cumberland, ME – Former Maine Sire Stakes champion Gowestyounggrace returns home to Cumberland Raceway on Friday (April 24) for her first start of the season in the race seven, $4,800 conditioned pace.
Owned, trained and bred by Fred Ward Jr. and Sharon Ward, the 5-year-old daughter of Western Maverick was a two-time Pine Tree State standout following victories in the lucrative finals in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns. In fact, her 3-year-old season was highlighted by an 11-race win streak, culminating in a romp in the $96,143 Maine Sire Stakes final at Bangor.
Former two-time Maine champion Gowestyounggrace will make her seasonal debut on her home turf. Joe Shaw photo.
Now with $237,009 on her card, Gowestyounggrace comes back to Cumberland after 2025 stints and Plainridge and Northfield. Much faster than her 1:57h record would indicate, she was race timed in 1:52.2 in November of last year. Off just a qualifier on April 12, she has been listed at 4-1 on the morning line with regular driver Dave Ingraham at the controls.
The morning-line favorite in the race is Commander Cathy N (9-5, driver Aaron Hall), who has posted a string of three seconds following a win on opening weekend. Trained by Jamie Gerard, the 9-year-old daughter of Captaintreacherous carries an optional claiming tag and was been placed at the outside in the five-horse dash.
The first event of the 11-race program will be called to post at 12:15 p.m.
The exotic wagering action starts with a Pick-5 in the opener, then the Pick-4 is set for the last four races on the program (races 8-11) and has a $490.24 carryover. The Pick-3 begins in race nine, and all boast a low 16% takeout. In addition, the 20-cent Superfecta is available in races four, six, and eight, along with a Pentafecta in races five and the finale.
Racing continues on Saturday (April 25) with a 12-race program of full fields and is the second half of the first of six weekends of Friday-Saturday racing, which runs through the month of May, after which the calendar reverts back to Saturday-Sunday cards for the month of June.
First post is always 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2. The lone exception will be Saturday, May 2, when the track will offer wagering on the 152nd Kentucky Derby and the full card live from Churchill Downs, with the first post for live harness racing set for 2:45 p.m.
A complete calendar and additional information can be viewed here.