Cumberland, ME — Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, First Tracks Cumberland’s weekly Winter Festival schedule excluded ‘Black Friday’ (Nov. 25) and restarts on Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 26-27) with two, full-card harness racing dates.

Ry’s Red Rocket leads a fast group of top pacers at Cumberland. Stephanie Gray photo.

Saturday’s (Nov. 26) program has ten races, with the featured $6,000 Open 3 Pace headlined by Ry’s Red Rocket (3-1, Matt Athearn) who is seeking her eighth win of the season. The 5-year-old mare by Sunshine Beach is trained by local legend Donnie Richards and has been routinely beating the boys in the upper tier of the Southern Maine pacing ranks.

See You Friday (5-2, Walter Case Jr.) will try to continue his dominance against similar company, having won three of his last five outings.

The Sunday (Nov. 27) program also features ten races, three of which are trotting events. The featured $6,000 Open 3-4 Trot includes a full field of recent winners, including Osprey Delta (9-2, Mike Stevenson) and A Blue Blood (5-1, Nick Graffam) who will try to upset the early morning line favorite Little Macabee (5-2, Aaron Hall).

Every race, all weekend long, has a 50-cent trifecta, and the final race each day also features a 20-cent Pentafecta.

Our extended pari-mutuel harness racing meet continues through Dec. 24, with post time remaining at 11 a.m. The popular Au Revior Retirement Showcase for 14-year-old Standardbreds is slated for Dec. 17, with entries due by Nov. 30.

For more information go to our website at firsttrackscumberland.com and follow us on Facebook at @FirstTracksCumberland.