by Susan Higgins, marketing director, Scarborough Downs

Scarborough, ME — Shady Sabrina remained the Queen of the Maine scene on Saturday (July 17) as she claimed victory in the $25,000 final of the Mid-Summer Classic Pacing Series in front of an enthusiastic crowd as Scarborough Downs celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Michael Newman photo

Shady Sabrina won the $25,000 Mid-Summer Classic Pacing Series Final.

Widely regarded as one of the top older pacing mares along the Eastern Seaboard, Shady Sabrina scored her 12th seasonal victory in Scarborough’s top pacing event, remaining undefeated in state of Maine competition this year, now proudly boasting a current five-race win streak.

Driver Kevin Switzer engineered a brilliant raceway strategy as he hustled Shady Sabrina quickly to the lead and then played the rest of the field like a chess master, keeping all the horses stacked across the raceway like so many chess pieces on the board.

The duo stole the opening quarter, reaching the first marker in a pedestrian :28.3, then further controlled the tempo reaching the midway point in a leisurely :58.1 as chief contender Doubleshotascotch (Heath Campbell) pulled to the outside to engage.

Up the backstretch they rambled, with Shady Sabrina, the lone mare in the race, taunting, “come and get me, boys!” but none of the boys were ever able to overcome her incredible stamina and Switzer’s masterfully-executed driving strategy. The mile was timed in 1:54.3, the second fastest mile raced at Scarborough Downs this season. Doubleshotascotch was second, and Tireman (Ron Cushing) was third.

“When the draw came out and I saw we had the outside post, I knew we’d have to put ourselves in a strategic position,” said Switzer. “Surprisingly, it’s easy to leave from post six at Scarborough, and we were able to make the top before we reached the first turn. She’s a tough mare, and given the soft early fractions, they were going to have a hard time getting past Shady today.”

Driver Heath Campbell remarked to Switzer following the race, “It’s nice to have a voice-activated mare. When you said ‘Go, mom,’ she went!”

Shady Sabrina is owned by the Golden Hour Stable and KDK Standardbreds. The victory pushes her seasonal bankroll to $128,500. This was the 63rd career victory for the 8-year-old daughter of Cam’s Dignity.

Live racing returns to the Downs on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with two divisions of the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes races for 3-year-old pacing colts.