Bangor Raceway delays opening day

Bangor ME - April 6, 2009 - Mother Nature has not been kind to Bangor Raceway for the last two springs. Although the racing surface at the Queen City is a great improvement over the problems that faced the track last year, soft spots in the track have appeared on the backside and the stretch and upper turn. Management has been evaluating the situation for the past few days and made the decision today to delay opening day until Friday, May 8th with a 3:00 pm post time.

Jon Johnson, general manager of Hollywood Slots Hotel & Raceway issued this statement earlier today:

Due to thawing conditions on the track, Bangor Historic Track dba Hollywood Slots Hotel & Raceway is postponing the opening of the track from April 17 to May 8, 2009.  This additional time will allow the soft, spongy spots on the track to fully thaw as well as firm up.  If the surface continues to have soft spots by the last week in April, those areas will be removed and replaced with firm material.

Our new Track Maintenance Supervisor, Justin Mahar and the track crew have done a superb job of maintaining the track surface and this delay is no reflection on them. The reality is that Mother nature is telling us that April is just too early to open and we will not be trying to open in April next year. At a later date, we will be requesting make up days in the fall from the Maine Harness Racing Commission.

I apologize for this disappointing delay but I did not want to have a repeat of the start and stop scenario we had last year. By setting this firm date, we are giving ourselves an appropriate amount of time to get the track surface in shape and give horsemen adequate notice to pursue other racing opportunities.

What should have only been a two week delay is being prolonged to three weeks by the City of Bangor hosting the Northeasten Forest Products Expo, which takes up all the space surrounding the track.

Horsemen at the facility have been able to jog and train without much delay. The track has only been closed during maintenance periods when large equipment have been on the track.

At this time, the racing office has not released a new schedule for qualifying races. The late closers that were scheduled to start in April will be rescheduled and posted as soon as possible.

ME Harness.com