Topsham, ME – Threes were definitely wild during Sunday’s (Aug. 3) opening session of the Topsham Fair, with drivers Kevin Switzer Jr. and Heath Campbell each throwing in hat trick performances while the mare Juneparker secured her third consecutive trip down Victory Lane.
Switzer benefited from the prowess of the razor sharp Juneparker, gaining the catch drive on Sunday after she had been capably piloted to back-to-back scores at First Tracks Cumberland with trainer Ryan Berry in the pilot’s seat.
Sent confidently from the gate, Juneparker was quickly forced to acquiesce to a two-hole trip after Cash Vaughan and driver Todd O’Dea insisted on taking point. Speeding to the quarter in :28.4 before catching a slight breather to a :59 half, Cash Vaughan maintained an open-lengths advantage over Juneparker as they blazed to three-parts over the well-groomed, if relatively soft, fairgrounds oval in an unexpected 1:29.1.
Seizing opportunity, Switzer and Juneparker pounced at the valiant pacesetter as they entered the final turn, ultimately extending out to 5-1/2 length margin timed in 1:59.2 and returning $4 to win.
“They were setting pretty quick fractions for this track today, so I just sat back and rated my own mile” Switzer remarked in a trackside interview. “She got brave when we came up alongside them and raced strong to the wire.”
The win was the sixth of the season for the daughter of Millionaire Cam who is owned by trainer Ryan Berry.
Switzer’s other two winners came with Some Fancy Beach (2:03.1-$4.60), who won her first race since Dec. 2, 2022, and Creepin (2:01.1-$3.60), who finished in a dead heat for the win with Aerosmith Hanover (Drew Campbell).
Harness racing resumes at the Topsham Fair on Monday with a nine-race betting card slated to get underway at 4 pm (EDT).
Monday’s betting card will be preceded by an $11,576 non-wagering Maine Sire Stakes event for 3-year-old pacing fillies followed by an additional split of state-bred distaff sophomores, which will be contested for an $11,802 purse as the first race on the betting program.
Admission for Monday’s card is free.
For those not able to come to the track, wagering on the Topsham Fair, as well as hundreds of harness and thoroughbred racetracks across the world, will be available on Hollywood Races at www.hollywoodraces.com as well as at all state of Maine off-track betting parlors.
The video for Topsham’s races will be livestreamed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@mainefairharnessracing and the live audio of Topsham’s cards will be available along the radio network of Mix Maine Media at The Mix 107.9 FM, True Country 93.5 FM, and THE Score 1160 AM as well as online at www.mixmaine.com.