Cumberland, ME – Maine’s best trotters are set to battle once again at Cumberland Raceway on Friday (May 22) in the $7,000 featured Winners Over Trot.
The Harringtons’ Brutalizer currently enjoys the bragging rights as the 5-year-old son of Alarm Detector has won two of his last three encounters with Zach Vickerson’s Big Al M. Post position notwithstanding, the pair have locked horns on five occasions this season, with the score tied at two all.
Big Al M has those two wins on his card against Brutalizer, whereas the latter has three wins on the season, with his first occurring during the absence of the former. This should make for good theater (and handicapping) when the Wes Brown starting gate signals the start of Friday’s 7th race.
In lieu of his recent form, the trackman has listed Brutalizer as the mild morning-line favorite at 2-1 from post 6. With $146,862 earned lifetime, he has a fair amount of ground to make up to catch Big Al M (5-2), who has $533,930 in career spoils. The 8-year-old son of Anders Bluestone will be driven by his owner-trainer from post 5.
On Friday, the exotic wagering action starts with a Pick-5 in the opener, then the Pick-4 is set for the last four races on the program (races 9-12). The Pick-3 begins in race 10, and all boast a low 16% takeout. In addition, the 20-cent Superfecta is available in races 4, 6, and 8, along with a Pentafecta in races 5 and the finale.
Looking ahead to the following race date, the $6,200 feature on Saturday (May 23) is $10-12.5k claiming handicap in race 8, pitting Married Man (9-5, Harrington), who has been assigned the outermost post 5, against Jones Hanover (2-1, Kevin Switzer Jr.) and the Michelle Lefebvre-trained duo of Ys Do It Right (7-2, Todd Whitney) and Keystone Maxim (6-1, Wally Watson).
First Tracks Cumberland hosts its penultimate Friday-Saturday racing schedule through the month of May. When the calendar flips to June, the schedule reverts back to Saturday-Sunday cards for the remainder of the meet.
Except for special occasions, first post is generally 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2.
A complete calendar and additional information can be viewed at the First Tracks Cumberland website.