by Bill Ellis

Oxford, ME — Though the Oxford County Fair in Maine is located inland the patrons who came to the races on Thursday (Sept. 16) enjoyed the view of Seaside. The daughter of Yankee Glide put on a trotting track record performance as she shattered the mark for 4- year-old mares by more than eight seconds as she replaced Blueridge Saprisa’s mark of 2:06 with her time of 1:57.4.

That time was also the fastest that any horse has trotted on this half-mile oval as she bested the all-time trot mark set by Pembroke Spice of 1:58.3 in 2009.

Mark Athearn took this Don Richards trained mare right to the top and never looked back. She put up fractions of :28.3, :58 and 1:27.2 and coasted home, besting her closest rival by four easy lengths, stopping the clock in 1:57.4. No Jokin, who came into the race with five straight victories, had to settle for second with Pembroke Heat Wave finishing third.

Seaside enjoyed stellar freshman and sophomore years. Her 2-year-old season saw her bankroll $161,541, winning at the Red Mile in the International Stallion Stakes and the Bluegrass Series with which she recorded her fastest win of the seven that she had in 13 starts, in 1:54.4. She also traveled north of the border in winning the Champlain at Mohawk and complimented the year with wins in a Merrie Annabelle elimination and the Acorn Stake, both at the Meadowlands.

Owner Tom Dillon of Anson, Maine saw an even better 3-year-old season for his New Jersey bred as she added another $370,904 to her card. Seaside won a Kentucky Filly Futurity elim in a season’s best time of 1:53.3, then returned to win the same day final in a time of 1:54. That set up for her appearance in the Breeders Crown where she finished third behind the likes of Broadway Schooner and Elusive Desire.

Seaside came to the Oxford Fairgrounds showing a 1:53.2 lifetime best effort at the Meadowlands in July. The recipe in New Jersey was the same in Maine, go to the top and never look back. Her Oxford victory upped her lifetime earnings to $566,015.