Cumberland, ME — Harnessing Hope returns to the Cumberland Fair this weekend.
Founded in 2025, Harnessing Hope provides a fundraising vehicle to allow the Maine harness racing industry to give back to the larger community. Centered around a driving competition, each participating driver represents a charity that is meaningful to them in some way. The results on the track then determine point standings, and the top two charities at the end of the competition will receive donations courtesy of Maine harness racing. This season, more than 40 individual drivers are participating, representing 18 different charitable causes. Harnessing Hope is funded through 50-50 raffles, along with the sales of merchandise such as hats and T-shirts, which will be available during the Friday (Oct. 2) and Saturday (Oct. 3) race cards at Cumberland Fair.
The first legs of the driving competition were held earlier this year at the Windsor and Farmington Fairs, and the Friday and Saturday cards at Cumberland are the concluding ones, and will go a long way toward determining the final standings. Going into the weekend, Andy Harrington, who is representing the Barbara Bush Center for Children, holds a slight lead over Aaron Hall, who drives for the same cause. Kevin Switzer Jr., who won last year’s competition, competes on behalf of Make-A-Wish and is currently in third place. Heath Campbell (Breast Cancer research), Joey Mosher (Make-A-Wish), Ron Cushing (leukemia research), McGwire Sowers (American Heart Association) and Hunter Lofthus (diabetes research) round out the current top eight.
A new feature for 2026 is the Harnessing Hope All Women’s Invitational Pace, which will take place on Saturday (Oct. 3) in support of breast cancer awareness.
With 20 races in the competition yet to be contested, nothing has been decided. The Friday and Saturday cards at Cumberland offer Maine racing fans the opportunity to support Harnessing Hope, to cheer on their favorite driver, and help worthy causes at the same time.