After winning the consolation prize the past two seasons, Stars Photo finally won the championship as he cruised to victory in the $25,000 Joseph Ricci Memorial Trot Saturday evening at Scarborough Downs. The annual event is the feature race of the season at Scarborough and remembers Joe Ricci, who owned the racetrack for more than two decades before his untimely death in 2001. 

Driver Heath Campbell took control  with Stars Photo as the field passed the quarter pole in 29 seconds. After taking the field to the half in 1:00 flat, Campbell  faced an immediate challenge from Mister Rhubarb (Jason Bartlett) but by the time the field reached the three-quater pole in 1:29.3 Stars Photo had once again drawn clear. The pocket sitting Classic Andy (Kim Ireland) tried the front runner in the homestretch, but Campbell and Stars Photo drew off to win by three and a quarter lengths. Classic Andy finished second, while Mister Rhubard held on for third in the 1:59.3 mile.  

Stars Photo is owned by Bill Varney of Bangor and is trained by Valerie Grondin. The victory was the third in a row for the veteran trotter, and the 1:59.3 mile is the fastest trotting effort in Maine thus far in 2005. Stars Photo had finished second in the Ricci Memorial in both 2003 and 2004. 

Earlier on the Saturday evening card, Special Move, driven by Ivan Davies, extended her winning streak to ten by virtue of her victory in a $6,310 Maine Standardbred Breeders Stake event. Owned by Doug Hutchins of Lyman, Maine and Paul Kinnear of Staten Island, New York, Special Move has yet to lost a race in her career.