Bangor, ME — Walter Case Jr., the dean of state-of-Maine harness racing, held the hot hand at Bangor Raceway on Friday (July 21), teaming three winners down Victory Lane.

In classic Case fashion, the winner of 11,264 races lifetime, began his day by creating speed behind Velocity Sub Z (1:59.3-$4.60). Sprinting toward an early advantage and gliding gate-to-wire, Case engineered the first seasonal win for the Judson Merrill owned and trained veteran pacer.

It was deja vu all over again in the next race as Instant Replay (1:57.1-$2.80) responded to yet another front end gambit. Case hustled the developing son of Lazarus N smartly off the gate before floating home, under wraps, through an unhurried :58.1 back half. Trained by Kimberly Vafiades for owner George Fenno III, the win was the fourth in a row for the 3-year-old gelding.

Walter Case Jr. completed his hat trick with Northern Skyway. Thomas Smith photo.

Case completed his hat trick, relying more on strategy than brawn while working out a strategic second-over journey with Northern Skyway (2:00.1-$6.40) in Friday’s $5,500 featured trotting event. Gaining the lead at the top of the stretch, Case guided the high-headed and playful veteran to a 1-1/2 length margin at the wire, dishing up the 42nd career victory for the 8-year-old son of Guccio who is trained by James Dunn for owners Anthony Loiko and Bradford Vellieux.

“It was the master at work” concluded retired racetrack announcer Lloyd Johnson, who called most of Case’s early career wins at Scarborough Downs in the 1980. “Casey still creates interest when he’s driving at a track and we’re fortunate to be able to watch him continue to drive at such a high level here in Maine.”

In other Bangor news, driver Heath Campbell matched Case’s performance with a hat trick of his own on Friday, solidifying his fourth place spot on the Bangor leaderboard.

The closing day of the summer meeting at Bangor is slated for Wednesday (July 26) with a 3 p.m. post time.