by Susan Higgins, director of marketing, Scarborough Downs

Scarborough, ME — Scarborough Downs is teaming up with the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of Maine to honor the racing careers of those horses who are retiring this season with a special ceremony during Sunday’s (Dec. 19) race program.

The event will honor eight 14-year-old Standardbred pacers and trotters who at one time raced at the Downs during their careers. Retirement is required for all Standardbred race horses at the end of their 14th year, as mandated by USTA rules.

The horses scheduled to participate in the ceremony are:

Goblin Girl: A Maine-bred stakes star owned by Thomas Smith of Harrison, Maine. Currently serving as a broodmare, she is the dam of Stonehollow Goblin who seemingly is following in mamma’s hoof prints having finished second in this season’s 2-year-old Maine Sire Stakes final.

Gypsy: Largely considered one of the greatest horses ever bred in Maine. She dominated her sophomore stakes class, established and still holds the stakes and the Scarborough track record for her age and sex (1:57.2 in 1999) and even now, 11 years removed from her greatest season, continues to hold eight track records at various venues. She is currently owned by Lynn-Marie Plouffe and stands as the queen of the broodmare band at the Dupuis Farm in Saco, Maine.

Jaccka Seelster N: Owned by Tammy and Bo Sowers of Limestone, New Brunswick, Canada, this old-timer will not only be participating in Sunday’s retirement ceremony but will in fact be making his final Scarborough Downs start that day. A winner in his very first start in 2003 in New Zealand, he has gone on to visit the winner’s circle a total of 48 times in his career with his most recent win a zippy 1:58 score on Scarborough’s twice-around. Jaccka Seelster N will be making the final start of his career in Monticello Raceway’s Au Revoir Pace on New Year’s Eve.

My Radiant Star: Owned by Bob Tourangeau of Scarborough, Maine. This Maine-bred mare had the distinct disadvantage of having to race in the same stakes class as the incomparable Gypsy. The iron-sided mare never shied from the battle though and in fact finished second by a scant nose to Gypsy in 1999’s $40,000 Maine Sire Stakes Final. She is the dam of 2008 Maine Sire Stakes champion colt, Terry’s Star Dragon.

Mystical Sign: A total of 313 times to the post netted this son of Life Sign 28 trips down victory lane. With career earnings falling just $177 shy of reaching the $150,000 level, he apparently never lost the winning desire as he tacked four wins to his lifetime tally during his 14-year-old season. He is owned by Jason Vafiades of Portland, Maine.

Prince Rama A: Boasting 46 career victories and more than $212,000 in lifetime earnings, this Aussie-bred son of Panorama comes with all the quirks generally associated with the horses from Down Under. Headstrong and rambunctious, he often follows his own special drummer and while making his first Scarborough start a winning one back in 2006, driver Brian Nelson had to settle for a photo session in the clubhouse bushes rather than the infield winner’s circle as Prince Rama A got his way once again! Owned by Michael De Runtz of Scarborough, Maine, Prince Rama A will join Jaccka Seelster N in the trip to Monticello Raceway on New Year’s Eve for the Au Revoir Pace.

Snowflake V: The little mare that could. This daughter of Moving Forward (a stallion legendary for producing giant sized offspring) never caught the growth gene that became the hallmark of her brothers and sisters. She did make all her sophomore stakes starts while finishing third five times in one of the last seasons that Maine Sire Stakes colts and fillies were required to race together. She broke her maiden in 2:09.2 before winning her second and final race in a dead heat, timed in 2:12.1. She went on to become a graduate of the University of Maine equine studies program and was a member of the UMO drill team. She is currently owned by Jennifer Johnson of Bangor, Maine.

There will be a special tribute planned for the late Par One, a 14-year-old trotter who had to be humanely euthanized this past summer after succumbing to injuries.

The Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of Maine retrains Standardbred horses to become pleasure — or riding — horses, after their racing careers are over. In addition to marshaling at the ceremonies with retrained, retired Standardbred horses, members will present each retiree with an embroidered saddle pad signifying their transition from racing to pleasure horse.

The SPHO will have an information booth in the grandstand and the public will have access to the horses used for marshaling.

Scarborough Downs live racing post time is 12:10 p.m., with the Retirement Ceremony taking place after the sixth race. Admission is free.