by Mike Sweeney, for Scarborough Downs

Scarborough, ME — More than $245,000 in purse money will be on the line on Sunday (Sept. 8) as the freshman championships of the Maine Sire Stakes program will be decided in four divisions at Scarborough Downs.

Restricted to 2-year-old Maine-bred Standardbred races horses, these title matches will be part of an extremely strong 12-race program with first post scheduled for 1:05 p.m. (EDT).

Michael Newman photo

Trotter CCC (with driver Kim Ireland) will be gunning for the eighth win of his freshman season on Sunday.

The two trotting divisions are headlined by standout performers with Kate At The Gate and CCC both bidding to cap off dominant seasons.

Kate At The Gate, a daughter of Current Cast, who is owned by the East Pond Stable of Oakland, Maine, rides a sterling five-race win streak into battle on Sunday as she bids to taste victory for the eighth time from just her 10th career start. Gary Mosher will be in the customary driver’s seat for trainer David Crochere.

CCC, a fourth generation Maine-bred, trained and reined by Kim Ireland for owners Deborah and Dennis Foss of Rye, N.H., comes to the big dance fresh off a track record performance at the Windsor Fair and will also be gunning for the eighth win of his freshman season.

The filly pacing division appears to be the most competitive on the card with multiple entries boasting multiple stakes wins this season. Big Bad Rose, the pride and joy of the New Brunswick contingent, roars to the raceway off a lifetime best outing at the Windsor Fair in her last, while Cheryl Leigh and Princess Wave stake their case for championship consideration based on their tally of five wins apiece this year.

The central story within the colt pacing division centers around the powerful Gerald Smith juggernaut as his entry of Maynard B and Blackmalin account for 12 seasonal wins combined. The prodigious duo have absolutely dominated their stakes division, having now hit the board in 19 of 21 starts.

The stakes championship undercard will be anchored by three $6,000 Free For All events which will showcase the crème de la crème of the Scarborough Downs overnight horse population.

Gates open at 12 Noon in anticipation of the 1:05 p.m. post time Sunday at Scarborough Downs. A 50/50 raffle will be conducted to benefit the MSBOA Scholarship Fund, and The Downs Club will be open for watching and wagering on the racing action. Admission is free.