Author: by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland

On a Cumberland Raceway track listed as ‘good,’ the Maine faithful withstood inclement weather for one of their favorite sons, Kevin Switzer Jr., to snag his 3,000th lifetime victory on Saturday (June 17). It finally arrived in race seven, in which his sister, Candace Brandstatter, harnessed El Jacko N and provided the well-known New England driver with his career benchmark.

Pacer Casual Cool and trotter P L Notsonice beat out some tough opposition to take the $18,500 features on their respective gaits on Saturday (June 17) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.

Breakfast With The Babies, sponsored by Jules Siegel’s Fashion Farms, took place Saturday morning (June 17) at the Meadowlands under perfect conditions. The temperature was in the low 70s under clear skies with a mild wind against the horses in the stretch.

When Travis Seekman guided last season’s Illinois Conceived and Foaled (ICF) freshman male trotting champion Groomster to a notable victory over a strong field of Illinois-breds in Friday’s (June 16) second race at Springfield, it was an omen that good things were likely going to happen. And they did … five races later. The Nicole Wilfong-trained pacer Downbytheocean blew away his foes in the seventh race to give Seekman his 1,000th career driving victory.

Artistic Cut and driver Jason Merriman rode the pocket to a 1:56.4 win in the featured $10,800 Mares Open on Friday (June 16) at Northville Downs.

Moonshine Kisses continued his career year of 2023 by setting two more records at Plainridge Park on Thursday (June 15). His 1:48.1 victory in the featured $25,000 Open Handicap Pace gave him a new lifetime mark, set a new track record for older pacing horses (besting his own previous record of 1:49), and tied the all-time track pacing record, set by Shartin N in 2020 and equalled by her stablemate Lyons Sentinel in 2021.

Robert Krivelin and Alan Schwartz fired down the road to take their respective $10,000 divisions of the North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) Trots at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday night (June 15).