Bangor, ME – The rains came early as morning dawned over Bangor Raceway on Sunday (Sept. 13) and persisted on a stubbornly intermittent basis throughout the afternoon session of harness racing at historic Bass Park.
The stone dust battled bravely against its determined liquid foe, holding firm to its customary fast-rated condition as the freshman filly, No Small Wonder (1:58.3, NB), forged a new divisional track record, and remained resilient throughout the first quarter of the wagering program. But as is its want in the natural world, water wins out over the heartiest of land, and in the end the stone dust begrudgingly acquiesced, as the track condition transformed, in the blink of an eye, from fast, to good, to sloppy.
And there the participants were, marauding through the mud on a drizzly late summer Sunday in central Maine.
Driver Joey Mosher proved masterful on the front-end of the muddy strip, fronting all comers with Jones Hanover (1:59.2, $2.40), teaming the Mark Harris trainee to a 10-length romp, before revisiting the clear-sailing route with Milliondollardream (2:02.4, $8.60) to secure the second win-in-a-row for the Michael Girouard trainee.
“You can see better out there on the front, that’s for sure” Mosher explained. “There’s a lot of mud flying back at you otherwise. It’s all right though (speaking of the track conditions), we’re going to get there. A lot of horses like this muck – I like it right now after these wins!”
Driver Heath Campbell charted a different tack though, scoring with back-to-back longshots from off the pace with Timbo Slice (2:04.2, $72.40) and Pownalbay Colleen (2:03, $29.20); the former following the cover of YS Do It Right (David Ingraham) before pouncing at the wire, and the latter generating a bold burst of late speed to swoop three-wide off the final turn.
“The front end was getting a little tired,” Campbell mused. “The horse is working hard to get home in 2:03 or 2:04 right now and in these conditions, if you save it for late, you’ll get it.”
“The mud helps out sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t” Ingraham added, getting the last word after winning the afternoon finale with Word Out (2.04.1, $3). “The track’s a little deep on the inside, sometimes you get better footing on the outside, you never know until you find out.”
One thing that is for certain though is that after an afternoon of three-bucket baths and long hot showers, sunny skies and summer-like temperatures are forecast to return to the Queen City oval. And with the freshening skies, Bangor Raceway’s brief September meet will conclude on Wednesday (Sept. 16) with a 12-race wagering program scheduled for a 3 p.m. post time. The card will be preceded by two $17,434 Maine Sire Stakes non-wagering events slated for a 2:15 p.m. starting time.
Bangor Raceway will swing back into action in October, playing host to the $400,000 (plus) Maine Sire Stakes sophomore championships on Saturday, Oct. 17, with post time slated for 3 p.m. (EDT) and will then continue racing on a three-day-per-week schedule through the first week in November.
For those not able to come to the track, wagering and live video for Bangor Raceway, as well as hundreds of harness and Thoroughbred racetracks across the world, is available on Hollywood Races at www.hollywoodraces.com.
For complete information regarding live racing, simulcast wagering, gaming, dining, and hotel accommodations at Bangor’s Hollywood Casino and Raceway, please visit the website at www.hollywoodcasinobangor.com.