Cumberland, ME – In the weekly battle for trotting supremacy in the Pine Tree State at Cumberland Raceway on Friday (May 22), Big Al M took command at the start and finished the race with a win over his arch nemesis Brutalizer in the $7,000 featured Winners Over Trot.
Going into the race, the Harrington’s Brutalizer enjoyed the bragging rights as their 5-year-old son of Alarm Detector has won two of his last three encounters with Zach Vickerson’s Big Al M. However, things changed in Big Al M’s favor as his owner-trainer sent the 8-year-old son of Anders Bluestone out to an early lead and never looked back.
When the wings folded To My Credit (7-2, Alex MacDonald) hit the turn on top and then yielded to a hard-charging Big Al M into a :28.4 opening panel. The field was in a relaxed, single file sequence heading to the 1:00.2 halfway marker, with Brutalizer (3-1, Andy Harrington) tipping from fifth to start the outer flow and his ascent forward.
With aggressors on the march, the 3-5 favored leader picked up the tempo and hit the third station in 1:30 while looking for a little separation. Around the final turn, Brutalizer was poised to pounce in third, but positioned three lengths back.
Down the stretch, both the pocket sitting To My Credit (2nd) and the first over Brutalizer (3rd) gave chase, however, Big Al M could not be reeled in as they hit the final beam in 2:00.1.
Owned, trained and driven to victory by Zach Vickerson, it was the third win of the season for the veteran trotter, who increased his lifetime earnings to $537,430. He returned $3.20.
In other racing news, driver Steve Wilson picked up three wins on the program, including a wire-to-wire romp with his own St Lads Thriller in 1:58.1. They returned $7.80 for the triumph.
Everyone’s favorite Octogenarian, Bob Nadeau grabbed his first win of the season with his own Azariya in a pylon-hugging circuit that gave the 6-year-old daughter of Lazurus N a new 2:00 seasonal mark. They paid $8.60.
Now 88-years-young, Nadeau has been a USTA member since 1966 and has been winning races for the last seven decades, or for as long as dash win records have been kept, whichever is greater.
Racing resumes Saturday (May 23), with the $6,200 feature a $10-12.5k claiming handicap in race seven. The contest pits Married Man (9-5, Harrington) who has been assigned the outermost post five, against Jones Hanover (2-1, Kevin Switzer Jr.) and the Michelle Lefebvre-trained duo of Ys Do It Right (7-2, Todd Whitney) and Keystone Maxim (6-1, Wally Watson).
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 10-13). The Pick-3 begins in race 11, 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.
First Tracks Cumberland hosts their penultimate Friday-Saturday racing schedule through the month of May. When we flip the calendar to June and the official start of summer, the schedule reverts back to Saturday-Sunday cards for the remainder of the meet.
Except for special occasions (Sat., June 6, Belmont Stakes), first post is 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through August 2.
A complete calendar and additional information can be viewed by visiting our website:
https://firsttrackscumberland.com/racing-info/.