by Susan Higgins, Director of Marketing, Scarborough Downs

Scarborough, ME — It was a day of harness racing education and fun at Scarborough Downs on Sunday (Aug. 11) as the ninth annual Family Fun Day got underway to a packed grandstand, with the Standardbred race horse taking center stage.

Scarborough photo

Drew Campbell took a turn in the dunk tank on Sunday.

In addition to the eight-race card, activities included a horseshoe decorating contest for prizes using real racehorse shoes, a shoeing demonstration with blacksmith Ernie Lowell, a horseshoe toss for prizes, as well as a charity dunk tank that raised $262 for The Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, a Windham, Maine based equine rescue organization. Drivers and trainers like Drew Campbell volunteered to be dunked much to the delight of the fans.

Retired racehorse CC Bag A Luck, with his new owner Katie Flaherty and a table of information on his achievements as a racehorse and as a pleasure horse, was on the apron for the kids to pet, and retired trotting mare Snap Dancer, winner of the $50,000 Joseph Ricci Memorial Trot back in 2007, marshaled the races with her new owner Elizabeth Tewskbury.

The large agriculture display in the grandstand featured bales of hay, straw, shavings and bags of grain with signs educating fans just how much Standardbred race horses need daily and annually, as well as the open space in Maine that is needed for horses. Kids could get right in the display and touch and feel each while learning.

The goal is to get people through our doors to see what we do here while having fun, but more importantly to understand just how much this industry contributes to Maine agriculture and the Maine economy. It registers in the millions of dollars. If they’re having fun while doing it, mission accomplished.

Attendance and handle exceeded last year’s event.