Cumberland, ME — Punters who were both brave and bold excelled on Cumberland’s Saturday (Nov. 13) card as only two wagering favorites found the Blue Seal winner’s circle, with six races paying double digit win tickets for those bettors willing to step out of their comfort zone.

The opener, a $5,000 co-featured trot, was the first event to go to the public’s choice. J S Peyton (post five, Dan Deslandes) wired the field in 1:59.1 with the 6-year-old Swan For All gelding capturing his second win in a row. From that point, the payoff kept growing.

The second race, second half of the double, a $5,000 co-feature pace, went to Obscene Blue Chip (post two, Matt Athearn) in 1:57.4. Content to sit in the catbird seat, the 7-year-old son of Western Ideal tipped in the lane and picked up his first victory since the springtime for trainer Ken Secord and owner Cris Wescott. The Spy (post three, Shawn Thayer) finished second with the favorite, Ten Beaches Later (post four, Bruce Ranger), hanging on to be third. Obscene Blue Chip paid $11.40 to win.

Race three really lit up the toteboard as 29-1 longshot Surreal Sergeant got a perfect steer from driver Drew Campbell from post seven to get up in the final strides to win by a quarter-length in 1:58.3. This was just the second win of the year for the 4-year-old son of So Surreal who is owned and trained by Richard Bartlett. Wagering favorite Bet On Success (post five, Bruce Ranger) set the pace but finished second with Master Of Puppets (post six, Mike Stevenson) getting up for the show dough. Surreal Sergeant rewarded his backers with a $60.80 win ticket.

On the professional drivers’ side, reinsmen Drew Campbell and Steve Wilson both enjoyed doubles, with fan-favorite outrider and accomplished Standardbred trainer Charlene Cushing also getting two wins on the card.

With the Maine Amateur Driving Club back in town, the competition was fierce and the wagering robust as the “A” group $4,500 six-horse field had three in and three out from the half-mile pole. Trainer turned amateur driver Karl Butterfield tried to wire the field from post four with Mighty American N, but springtime point-leader Benson Merrill had other ideas.

Jackie Gheeson stormed down the center of the track to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:58.2. Stephanie Gray photo.

Parked second over from the half, Merrill continued to make forward progress with Jackie Gheeson (post five) and took the overland route, stormed down the center of the track, and got up to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:58.2. Sitting on his helmet most of the mile was Eric Bickmore with Electrify (post six), who maintained his momentum to finish second. Derek Howes (post two, Rockintheniteaway) was first over and poked a head in front at the head of the stretch but had to settle for third. Jackie Gheeson paid $4.80 to win.

Speaking of lighting up the toteboard, Lightupbullville (post one, Adrian Wisher Jr.) did just that in the MADC $3,500 group “B” bonanza. Given a textbook drive by Wisher, Lightupbullville let a couple guys go and then jumped out in the lane to take his Blue Seal swag bucket home in 2:00.3. First time MADC participant Jason Bertolini (age 24) proved that his Finnish bloodlines don’t apply to just trotters. Leaving sharply from post two with his own charge Led Schneppelin, Bertolini cut sensible fractions and just got beat by a head at the wire. The always competitive Dakota “Action” Jackson (post four, Milliondollardad) got up for third.

Lightupbullville paid a whopping $33.80 to win, and coupled with Led Schnepplin, rock-and-rolled for a $97.60 exacta. Add Milliondollardad to the fray and the result was a 1-2-4 trifecta worth $4,397.

The Maine Amateur Driving Club events were faithfully sponsored by the nice people at Blue Seal Feeds of the Windham and North Yarmouth locations. The popular swag bucket trophies were presented by Aimee Nichols, the dedicated territory manager for Blue Seal and Kent Feeds.

Overall wagering on the Saturday (Nov. 13) card exceeded $116,000, which is the highest daily handle in First Tracks Cumberland history. The Pick-4 for races 7-10 resulted in #Senditin Gabe Prewitt’s favorite expression: carryover. For Tuesday (Nov. 16) Cumberland will offer a $4,000 guaranteed 50-cent Pick-4, races 7-10, with a $1,576 carryover and just 16 percent takeout.

Racing continues at First Tracks Cumberland on Tuesday (Nov. 16) and Wednesday (Nov. 17) with the regular 11 a.m. post time. Our Winter Festival extended pari-mutuel meeting continues with live harness racing several days each week through Dec. 31. For more information go to our website at firsttrackscumberland.com or follow us on Facebook at @FirstTracksCumberland.