This coming Sunday the 2005 Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes season gets underway when Bangor Raceway hosts the first of a dozen preliminary legs of competition between three-year-old pacing colts and geldings that were sired in the state of Maine.

Over the next four months, the sire stake action will take place at eleven different venues throughout Maine. While a number of these events will be hosted by the state’s two commercial racetracks, Bangor Raceway and Scarborough Downs, the program will also make stops at fairs in Presque Isle, Topsham, Skowhegan, Union, Windsor, Oxford, Farmington, Cumberland and Fryeburg. The stop at the Oxford County Fair in mid-September will mark the first time that venue has ever hosted the Maine Sire Stake program.

The Maine Standardbred Breeders Stake is made up of eight separate classifications: two-year-old trotting fillies, two-year-old trotting colts, two- year old pacing fillies, two-year-old pacing colts, three-year-old trotting fillies, three-year-old trotting colts, three-year old-pacing fillies and three-year-old pacing colts. All of the horses participating in the program were bred at farms in the state of Maine. Competition in the three year old divisions begins this Sunday, while the events for two-year old will start on July 3rd.

There will be sire stake action on fifteen different days during the month of July. After this weekend, Bangor Raceway will host MSBS action again on July 1^st, 2^nd, 10^th, 15^th and 16^th.  Scarborough Downs will host sire stake events on July 3^rd, 6^th, 8^th, 9^th, 13^th, 17^th, 20^th, 22^nd and 23^rd.

On the final day of July, the program shifts to the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle, and the vast majority of the sire stake action during August, September and October will take place at the state’s agricultural fairs. There will be Maine Standardbred Breeders stake events at some locale in the state on eighteen days during August and on fourteen occasions in September.

The Maine Standardbred Breeders Stake program for two-year-olds consists of eight preliminary legs for each classification and culminates with four lucrative finals at Scarborough Downs on Sunday September 11th. Three-year-old trotters and pacers will compete in a dozen preliminary legs, and their final events will also be held at Scarborough on Sunday October 16th.

For specific dates, venues and classifications for the 2005 Maine Standardbred Breeders stakes go to http://www.maineharnessracing.com/sirestakesschedule.html.

Bangor Raceway continues its program of late closing events this weekend. The $3,000 first leg of the Arnold Stanhope Memorial takes place on Saturday evening, while the $2,750 opening leg of the Bill Turner Trot is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

The feature race at Scarborough Downs this week takes place on Saturday and five horses are entered in the $3,700 event. Baxter, owned by Diann Perkins of Cornish, will start from the rail. From post two starts Doctor Young, a newcomer to Maine who is owned by Ron Alexander and Bill Shattuck. Sam Francisco Ace, owned by Gaetan Cloutier and Maryjane Parker of Leeds, starts from post three. The Windsor Kon X Tion’s Shady Sequel starts from post position four, and with a seasonal mark of 1:56.2 he is the fastest member of the field. Woodmere Fulatrix, owned by Wilbur Cluff of Arundel, has drawn post position five.

Post time at Bangor Raceway this weekend is at 7:30 P.M. on Friday and Saturday, and at 1:30 P.M. on Sunday afternoon.  Scarborough Downs will go to post at 7:00 P.M. Friday and Saturday evening, and at 3:30 P.M. on Sunday