by Michael Sweeney, for Scarborough Downs

Scarborough, ME — The Joseph Ricci Memorial Trotting Series, New England’s premier trotting event, continues to garner unprecedented national attention as the already highly competitive field increases in both size and character this weekend with the addition of two superstars of the older trotting set.

Dink Adoo will truck in on Sunday (August 3) to compete under the red and green banner of the Bob and Patty Sumner stable fresh off a mild upset of the highly regarded Before He Cheats in the $90,000 Dygert Memorial at Chicago’s Hawthorne Racecourse.

Dink Adoo, a 9-year-old son of Inquirer, has won 58 races during his long-tenured career while amassing an impressive bankroll totaling $772,946 in lifetime purse earnings for The Panhellenic Stable.

“Dink Adoo is arguably one of the classiest trotters to ever compete in Maine,” said Scarborough Downs spokeswoman Susan Higgins. “We can usually only watch his type on televised simulcast. The fans won’t want to miss this rare local appearance by a nationally recognized trotter at the top of his game.”

Not to be eclipsed by the appearance of Dink Adoo, Scorpion Moon will ship in fresh from a recent Open-level victory at Ontario’s Mohawk Racetrack.

The 7-year-old veteran son of Armbro Scorpion has earned 48 trips down victory lane from only 125 lifetime starts with career purse earnings now in excess of $365,000 racing under the guidance of New York based trainer Tracy Brainard.

Scorpion Moon is an extremely exciting addition to the Ricci series. He keeps getting better with age and in fact just recently took his new lifetime mark of 1:52.4 at Pocono Downs. I’ve watched him race at Saratoga; he’s slick as can be around a half-mile racetrack.

Jason Bartlett — a state of Maine native and current leading driver at Yonkers Raceway — will make a special trip home to drive Scorpion Moon on Sunday.

Dink Adoo and Scorpion Moon join a stellar star studded Ricci Memorial cast which includes Likeabatoutofhell, who equaled the Scarborough track record of 1:58 last week; Mister Lucky Vec — a first flight winner in last week’s opening round; Kerogen — defending state of Maine Trotter of the Year; and Cocktail Hour and Victors Vicky, who were runners-up in their opening round elimination legs.

The second round of eliminations will be featured on the Sunday (August 3) card which gets underway at Scarborough Downs at 1:30 p.m. (EDT).

The $50,000 final of the Joseph Ricci Memorial Trot will be held on Saturday, August 9.

Scarborough Downs proudly features live harness racing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. (EDT). The popular Sunday matinees feature a 1:30 p.m. post time.