The Best Performances of the Week

John Beckwith gets the weekly honor with three wins in limited drives on a week with only two race dates as Scarborough was cancelled on Sunday. Beckwith guided trotter's Jennys Jammies and Keystone Dallas to the winner's circle - in addition to a victory with pacing mare Cohenucopia. Beckwith notched over 50 victories for 2008. Congrats!

Claimer Last Chance Artist won for the second straight week and has been first or second in his past eight attempts. The 4 year old gelding by Real Artist recorded his sixth win on the season for trainer/owner Phil Lyons and was driven by Kevin Switzer Jr.

Probably more recognized for his driving skills - Dinning has also been very hot as a trainer! Dinning trained two starters on the week and both resulted in wins (Pacific Rose and Mer Soleil). Dinning sports a lofty .475 training UDRS on the 2008 campaign. Congrats are in order!

Weather conditions again shortened the racing schedule with Sunday's card called off. Robert Dinning, Drew Campbell and Gary Mosher all recorded four wins on the week to tie for the most weekly wins. Dinning gets the nod for the weekly honor as he continued his torrid 2008 season. Dinning is the state's 3rd leading dash winner with 197 victories and over $472,000 in purse earnings. Dinning sports a very credible .329 driving UDRS on the year. Congrats!

The Allison MacDonald trained Veeba's Rose trotted to her second victory in a row winning by two and a half lengths in 2:05.1. Drew Campbell drove the 8 year old mare by Veeba Rova. This was also her fourth triumph in her past five attempts. Congrats to connections on a sharp trotter!

Fred Ward Jr. was perfect on the week with a win in his only start with Jenny Jammies. The talented trotting filly cruised to a victory in 2:05.1. Very impressive are the stats for Ward on the 2008 season. His yearly training UDRS in a stellar .421. Ward has notched 32 victories in 2008 with only 117 starts.

The severe Maine winter allowed for only one day of racing on the week. Kevin Switzer Jr. made that one day count with four wins on Sunday's Scarborough card. Winners included Any Price, Dirty Dansan, Grapes and Last Chance Artist. Switzer Jr. has had a solid 2008 season and is the state's 8th leading dash winner and has recorded over $250,000 in yearly purse earnings. Congrats!

Driver/trainer Drew Campbell and pacer CC Bag A Luck remained scorching hot winning their for fifth consecutive time! The most recent victory was Sunday's wire to wire effort in convincing fashion - winning by two lengths. CC Bag A Luck won his 13th on the season and 48th of his career. They don't make them any tougher than this 10 year old classy pacer by Camluck! Congrats to connections!

Mark Harris has waited patiently for recognition in this column all year. Harris recorded a win (Grapes) and a second (Bikini Kinda Guy) on Sunday's card. The Mark Harris stable has had a very solid 2008 season recording over 30 wins to date on the year. Congrats are indeed in order!

Drew has been on fire both driving and training as of late - but none more so than this week. Drew drove 27 horses on the 3 days of racing at Scarborough and 13 of those went to the winners circle! WOW! 21 of the 27 drives resulted in top three finishes! Drew continues his torrid winter statistics raising his yearly win total to 253 victories and a driving UDRS of over .365. Congrats on a tremendous week!

This 4 year old mare by Towner's Big Guy has been ultra competitive since landing in the state of Maine. The red hot Drew Campbell trained and drove Cmon Towners Jazz to her fourth consecutive victory in impressive fashion at Scarborough in 1:59.1. This was the pacer's eighth victory on the year and has finished no worse than third in her last ten attempts. Congrats!

A stellar week for the Allison MacDonald stable. Seven starters on the week resulted in three winners, a second place finish and two thirds. That's six out of seven on the board! Weekly victors included Veeba's Rose, Da Princess and Luckyredheadlucy. Congrats on a great week!

Leading dash winners on the week were Drew Campbell and Rob Dinning with eight and seven victories respectively. Yet - the weekly nod goes to the "cagey fox" - Leigh Fitch who recorded 5 wins in more limited drives. Leigh has had a very solid year with a driving UDRS of just under .285. Leigh remains a solid reinsman and is approaching 7500 career victories! Congrats on a successful week and year!

Trottin Tarzan notched his 10th win of the season on Friday at Scarborough Downs. This trotter has been exceptional and has won four out of his last five starts. More impressively - he has won 8 of his last 13 and has never missed the board in any of those starts! Trottin Tarzan is owned by Peter Doucette and trained and driven by Rob Dinning.

Drew Campbell has been more than hot as of late! Drew Campbell sent 6 starters to the gate on the week - resulting in 4 winners a second place finisher and a third place finisher. Drew has had a sizzling 2008 both driving and training and sports a stellar .472 UDRS training percentage. Huge congrats are in order!

Gary Mosher was the leading dash winner on the week with seven wins. His seventh race victory on Saturday at Scarborough Downs marked Mosher's 5,000th career victory! This is truly an incredible accomplishment that only six other Mainers have ever reached. Huge Congrats are in order to Gary for this remarkable feat and a solid 2008 campaign!

Gary Mosher sent Four Starz Prince to a wire to wire victory at Scarborough Downs on Saturday in a very quick 1:57.2. This victory was 2 and a half lengths better than any foe and pushed the pacer's yearly win total to six and earnings for 2008 in excess of $33,000. Four Starz Prince is a 6 year old gelding by The Panderosa. He is owned and trained by Frank Withee.

A perfect week for Wendy Ireland trained starters! Three trotters went to the gate on Friday at Scarborough and each made it to the winner's circle. Victors included Classic Andy, Mar's Wark and He's Ah Corker. Congrats on a perfect week! Wendy Ireland has had an impressive year as well with a training UDRS of over .305.

Winter is fast approaching and this week only included five race cards (2 Bangor and 3 Scarborough). Wally Watson gets the weekly honor with three wins in limited drives. Wally won with Hi Po Melody, Allamerican Wager and Sunshine Red. Congrats are in order here!

Classy 5 year old pacer - Top Spot has been a force to be reckoned with as of late. This week he romped to an impressive seven and a half length victory at Bangor in 1:59.1 over a track rated good (2 second allowance). Top Spot has five wins in his last eight starts for trainer Jamie Gerard. Shawn Gray drove in Top Spot's most recent victories. The pacer is owned by Ronald Bolduc.

Stacey has had an excellent 2008 season and continued with winning ways on the week. Three starters resulted in two victories - Due Damage and Turbo Tim. Stacey has an awesome yearly trainer UDRS of just over .400. Congrats!

Dinning was the week's dash winning driver with eight victories and also gets the nod in this column. Dinning continues with a scorching 2008 campaign with well over 170 wins on the season and a solid .322 driving UDRS. Dinning recorded four of this week's triumphs on Saturday, November 8 at Scarborough. Congrats on a big week and season!

Badlands Pride cruised to his third consecutive victory on the week for the Kyle Gibbs Stable. The pacer's most recent effort was a win over the sloppy rated Bangor oval in 2:00.1 - driven by Joey Mosher. That victory was the eighth on the season for the 4 year old son of Blissful Hall. It should also be noted that Badland's Pride has finished in the Top 3 in his past ten starts! Wow!

The Rick Cushing Stable added another 3 wins to their credit on the week in limited starts. Iamasurvivor had two wins on the week - both at Bangor. Totally Shady was also victorious on the week. Cushing has had a stellar 2008 campaign with over 28 victories and a UDRS over .300. Congrats are in order!

The state's leading driver in 2008 continued his torrid winning pace with another ten victories on the week. Gray now has over 240 wins on the year and sports an eye popping UDRS of .388. Gray notched five victories on Sunday's November 2nd card at Bangor. Congrats are in order!

This talented four year old trotting mare has been very successful since touring Maine ovals. She has two wins and a second in only three attempts. Speed Chip was most impressive in her last circling the field from post eight to get to the wire a neck the best. She trotted her mile at Bangor in 2:02.3 and was a 25-1 longshot! Speed Chip is owned by Corey Corbin and hails from the Craig and Aaron Hall stable.

More than long overdue in this category - Kyle Gibbs had a stellar week and continues an awesome 2008 campaign. Gibbs had seven starters on the week - resulting in five winners and two third place finishers. That's just about a flawless week in this sport! Gibbs yearly training UDRS is an incredible .457. Large congrats here!

Leading dash winning drivers on the week were Shawn Gray with nine - closely followed by brother's Drew and Heath Campbell with seven apiece. Yet - the weekly nod goes to Gary Mosher who racked up five victories on the week in limited drives including four triumphs on Sunday's Scarborough card. Gary sports a lofty .354 UDRS on the year and is quickly approaching 5,000 career wins.

This 7 year old trotter by Self Possessed has put together three consecutive victories in the top trotting class in the state. His most recent effort was a 2:01.3 victory at Bangor. Foreign Authority has not been worse than third in his last nine starts. Truly an impressive trotting veteran. Congrats to connections including driver Paul Battis and owners Ron Patoine and Gary Salamacha.

Another solid week for the Bo Sowers stable with three winners on the week. Victors included Scarlet Grace, Incredible Thrill and Roy Olcott. The hard working Sowers stable has had an excellent 2008 with over 38 victories and a surplus of over $120,000 in purses. This barn is well overdue to be recognized in this column! Congrats!

Rob Dinning was the leading dash winner on the week with 8 victories. Yet - my choice for the week goes to the "Redcoat" - Greg Bowden. Bowden steered 6 horses to the winner's circle on the week including a four bagger on Bangor's Tuesday afternoon card. One of the victories was a 67-1 longshot winner in King's Edition. Great week "Redcoat".

What a classy campaigner this pacer is! Mondo's 1:59.1 victory at Bangor was his eighth win on the year in only 16 attempts. He has been ultra consistent as he has finished either first or second in all of his his last eleven starts. The 9 year old son of Arturo is owned and trained by Valerie Grondin. Heath Campbell drove Mondo Hanover to his 52nd career triumph.

A stellar week for the Flanders barn - 6 starters with 4 wins and 2 third place finishes. Hard to do much better than that! Winners on the week included Rosa Caliente, Sorcerer Sea See, Ruby Red Slippers and Richmond Knight. Congrats to Richard Flanders on an awesome week and 2008 season!

Drew is a familiar name to this column. He had an another outstanding week with ten wins. This was four more victories than the next closest driver in Joey Mosher, who had six wins on the week. Drew now has well over 200 victories in 2008 with over $650,000 in purse earnings. He sports a UDRS over over .360. One of Drew's victories included Maine bred 2 year old filly pacer - No Peeking to a Sire Stakes victory at Scarborough. Congrats!

This was one of the year's most exciting week's as it was Sire Stakes Finals week. Congratulations to all Sire Stakes victors! Prior stakes final winner's that have been recognized in this column are Up Tempo, Bad Boy Billy and Terry's Star Dragon - how did I miss Kanalla Bella? She gets the nod for this week's honor! Kanalla Bella is a 3 year old trotting filly by Boy Band. She has rattled off seven consecutive stakes victories and holds the state track record for 3 year old trotting fillies with her 2:01 triumph a few weeks back at Windsor Fair. Her 2:03.2 Finals victory increased her yearly earnings to over $77,000. Kanalla Bella is owned by Michael Andrew and is trained and driven by the very talented - Ivan Davies.

So many barns/trainers had spectacular weeks. It is hard not to choose multiple honors for the week. Both Ivan Davies and Michael Graffam had incredible weeks with their Stakes performers in addition to several trainers that had great weeks in overnight racing. Yet - Gordon Corey deserves recognition for his efforts on a super week and an awesome year - primarily in the Sire Stakes program. It seems year after year - Gordon always has some top horses in the finals! This week - he had 4 starts on the week with 3 victories and a second place finish. Not too shabby! Stakes trotters Up Tempo and Bad Boy Billy were both victorious in their division finals. 2 year old pacing filly - Isn't She Lovely finished a close second to round out her successful Stakes campaign. Pacer - Taft also won on the week. Gordon's yearly training UDRS is an amazing .590. Kudos on a great week!

An exciting week of racing at Fryeburg Fair resulted in Shawn Gray and Kevin Switzer tied for the most wins on the week with eight victories. Switzer had a stellar week overall as well and gets the nod for the weekly honor. Kevin had 37 drives on the week with 9 second place finishes and 9 thirds in addition to his 8 wins. That's 26 out of 37 starts in the top three! Switzer continues his solid 2008 campaign and is currently the state's fifth leading dash winner on the year with a UDRS over .320.

I don't know how this pacer hasn't made his way into this column before now! The 3 year old Maine bred pacer by Sweet Dragon knocked off another Stakes victory this week at Fryeburg in 2:00.3. That win made it eleven wins in twelve attempts on the year and increased his 2008 bankroll to nearly $55,000. This talented youngster is owned by Robert Tourangeau and is trained and driven by Mike Graffam. Terry's Star Dragon has never been worse than third in 21 lifetime starts - with 17 of those being wins! Amazing!

Want to talk about a fantastic week? Mike Hitchcock sent sent seven horses behind the gate on the week - resulting in six wins and a second place finish! Hitchcock recorded a training four bagger on opening day at Fryeburg Fair with wins with NF Sinfull, Up Front Speed, Tangy's Pocket and Kentucky Turbo. Other winners later in the week included Point Well Taken and Canaco Nanimo. Congrats on a Sizzling week!

The Campbell Brothers, Heath and Drew were the weekly dash leaders with ten and seven respectively. Yet - this week's honor goes to Mark Athearn who was a perfect three for three on the week. Athearn started the week with a 2:00.3 win with Gambler'sson, followed by two sire stake trot victories with Current Cash in 2:05.3 and Current Closer in 2:03.1. Congrats on a flawless week!

Bad Boy Billy is long overdue in this column. This 2 year old trotter by Boy Band is arguably one of the best youngsters in Maine Sire Stakes history. His is a perfect eight for eight thus far in his young career. He notched his most recent triumph in 2:06.2 at Cumberland Fair. Bad Boy Billy is owned by Michael Andrew and trained and reined by Gordon Corey.

An awesome week for trainer David Crochere who paraded three winners in only five starts. Crochere seems to always be a factor in the Sire Stakes and notched another win on the week - this time with 2 year old pacer Hart Condition. Steuben Sircharles and Charlie Burke also were victorious on the week racing over a muddy Cumberland track. Kudos to David Crochere on a great week!

This seven year old pacer by Artsplace has rattled off six consecutive victories since returning to Maine. His most recent effort was a 1:57.4 triumph at Farmington Fair. Commitment is owned by the Ben, Bill and Will Stable and is trained by Shawn Nye. His last two wins were with Joey Mosher at the helm.

Three starters on the week resulted in three winners. That is what you call a perfect week! These victories increased Patty Switzer's yearly training UDRS to over an eye popping .511. Sentimental Victory won in 2:03.1 at Farmington, followed by a win from Kate's Atom N in 2:00.1 at Farmington and Jefferson Rocket completed the weekly trifecta with a win at Cumberland in 2:01.2. Congrats!

On a week with limited race dates, Jason MacDougall has a spectacular week. Jason had 13 drives with 4 winners, 4 second place finishes and 2 thirds. That's 10 out of 13 starts in the top three. These wins pushed MacDougall's yearly win total over 40 victories in Maine in 2008.
A special congrats to Benson Merrill who notched his first career victory behind longshot Juddy Muddy at Farmington Fair on Sunday!

Maine bred pacer Joe's The Best stole the spotlight at Oxford Fair on Saturday. The 5 year old pacer by Sakrologist, owned and trained by Gerald Kilgore, Jr. paced a blistering, track record setting mile of 1:54.4. Driver Shawn Gray guided Joe's The Best to his eighth career victory and established a new lifetime mark in doing so.

Six Grady trained horses went to post on the week. They resulted in four winners and two second place finishes. It's hard to do any better than that! An amazing week for Rodney Grady that pushed his yearly training UDRS to over .360. Winners included Fox Valley Merlin in 1:59.4, Saku in 1:59.1, Seaside Yankee in a state record 1:59.0 and Benelli in 1:58.1.

Shawn Gray recorded ten wins on the week that only included four Scarborough race days and one at Oxford Fair. Shawn tallied seven of those wins on Sunday's Oxford card! Gray continues his amazing 2008 season and is the state's leading dash winner. His yearly driving UDRS is just shy of .400.

Keystone Natalie paced a big mile in 1:55.2 on Sunday at Scarborough Downs to earn this week's honors. She has been an ultra impressive pacing mare since being brought to Maine by owner and trainer Steve Vafiades of Corinth, Me. Keystone Natalie notched her sixth win in twelve Maine starts. This recent performance shattered her prior lifetime mark!

Six starters on the week resulted in three wins and a second place finisher for the Gordon Dubois, Sr. stable. Friday at Scarborough marked all of those Dubois trained winners in Spring Emmy, Good Gams and By The Knows. Well deserved congrats are in order here!

Heath Campbell was the week's leading dash winner with an impressive thirteen triumphs. Heath also recorded a personal milestone of 3000 career victories on Friday at Windsor Fair. This is truly an amazing accomplishment at only 36 years of age. Heath's 2008 driving UDRS is well over .340. Huge congrats are in order!

As always, the Windsor Fair added to a spectacular week of Maine racing and lots of quick miles! Yet - none were more impressive than Kerogen on Labor Day - who trotted to a track record time of 1:57.4. The 5 year old son of Lindy Lane is owned by Lew Hayden and trained by Wendy Ireland. Kim Ireland was at the helm and notched this trotter's 10th victory in 16 starts on the year.

The Bickmore stable continued its extremely successful 2008 campaign. Randy Bickmore sent 15 starters to post on the week - resulting in 6 wins, 5 second place finishes and 1 third. This increased his yearly .UDRS to over .355. Windsor Fair winners included Psychic Credit in 2:02.2 and Any Price in 2:01.3. Scarborough victors on the week were Trottin Tarzan in 2:02.3, Sheeza Shady Lady in 1:58.3, Psychic Credit in 2:00.4 and Harmony Oaks John in 1:56.4.

Lots of great feats to choose from including Drew Campbell reaching the 2000 win plateau and Wally Watson eclipsing 1500 wins. Congrats to both. Leading dash winner's on the week were Shawn Gray with 15 wins and Stephen Mahar with 12. Yet - there was a first win ever for a youngster (16 years old) on Wednesday at Union Fair for Christopher Nye. Christopher proudly carries on the Nye family harness racing legacy. Congrats are in order and best wishes for a bright future to the young Nye.

There are too many impressive performances on the week to list. Yet - I kept coming back to this extremely talented Maine Stakes three year old pacer - Maineiac Matt. He set a new mark for 3 year old colts in the state of Maine with a blistering 1:55.1 mile at Windsor Fair. This Mike Graffam trained pacer whose sire is Merrilywerollalong notched his 6th win in 8 attempts this season and has been no worse than 2nd in 15 career starts. Maineiac Matt has now pushed his lifetime earnings to over $78,000 for owners Arnold, Arnold and Shaw.

An incredible, action packed week of racing resulted in many barns deserving of this week's award. My top choice goes to Jon Chenard - who has had a very respectable 2008 campaign and continued his successes this week. Chenard sent seven starters to the gate - resulting in three wins, one 2nd and one 3rd place finish. Highlighted winner's included TSM Spirited T in 2:01.3, Kitty in 2:00.2 and Gamble in a quick 1:58.4. A well deserved congrats to trainer Chenard!

A feminine touch is added by this week's award winner. Charlene Cushing had a very impressive week with 3 winners 3 second place finishes and 3 thirds in eleven attempts. Charlene raised her 2008 driving UDRS to over .350. Highlighted winners included the 14 year old veteran Kingstar A in 1:58.4 and longshot winners Darling Star (23-1) in 1:57.0 at Skowhegan and Roy Olcott (10-1) in 2:00.0 at Union.

Bob Sumner recorded his seventh Hight Memorial victory at Skowhegan with New York invader Rain Train. The teletimer stopped in a track record setting 1:54.1 in a narrow victory over Ideal Conditions. Rain Train is a 5 year old gelding that is owned by Sumner and Paganelli and trained by Patty Sumner. This was Rain Train's seventh win on the year in only 18 starts and pushed his career earnings to over $291,000.

The Jamie Gerard stable put up some very impressive statistics this week and remain one of Maine's elite barns. Eleven starters on the week resulted in 4 winners, 2 second place finishers and 3 third place finishers. This increased Gerard's yearly training UDRS to over .365. Highlighted winners on the week included Winbak Bella in 2:03.4 and All American Stash in 1:57.1 - both at Skowhegan. The other two victors were Son of Arturo in 1:59.4 and Cody Little Gal in 1:58.0 at Scarborough Downs.

It needs to first be noted that driver's Shawn Gray and Robert Dinning both compiled awesome weeks with sixteen and fifteen wins on the week respectively. As it would be unfair to choose one driver over the other in such great week's for both - I decided to go with a different reinsman that had a very sucessful week as well. John Bec kwith paraded four horses to the winner's circle on the week in limited starts. John continues a very strong campaign in 2008. Highlighted winners on the week included Orrin Phipp's trained trotter's Class Hit and Creditable Winner. Pacing victors were Mannart Sound Wave and Bikini Kinda Guy.

A week that was filled with lots of top performances. Likeabatoutofhell wins the $50,000 Joe Ricci Trot in 1:57.4. Congrats to all the connections and a superb performance by Gordon Corey and his team. My vote for the week goes in a different direction to an elite distaffer in Shady Sabrina. This mare looks to have regained her top form with victories in back to back weeks in the Winner's Over division at Scarborough Downs. She won this past weekend in a speedy 1:55.4 by a convincing seven lengths. The six year old mare by Cam's Dignity, owned by Lon Cohen and trained and driven by Kevin Switzer recoreded her seventh win on the season and increased her lifetime wins to thirty seven and career earnings to over $166,000.

Richard Bartlett Sr. continues to have a very credible 2008. This trend continued this week with a couple of impressive winner's in LNA's Dream in 1:56.0 and Morty in 1:57.1. Both these victories were at Skowhegan Fair on Sunday afternoon. Probably well overdue in this category - the Bartlett Stable maintains a yearly winning percentage in just under an impressive twenty five percent!

One of New England's all time premier drivers gets the nod for this week. Leigh Fitch - nicknamed the "Fox" was very sly this past week in notching four victories in limited drives at Scarborough Downs. He won back to back races on Thursday with Titanium Driver and Magical Dream. Fitch followed that up with two more wins on Saturday with Tyler Trouble N and a speedy mile with Joe's The Best in 1:57.1.

The highly exciting Joe Ricci trotting series provided with an all age track record on Sunday. The time of 1:57.3 by Dink Adoo tied the longstanding record held by Friendly Face. Dink Adoo was driven to victory by Robert Sumner and trained by Patty Sumner. This was Dink Adoo's 59th lifetime win and increased his lifetime earnings to over an eye popping $777,000. Congratulations to all connected to this classy trotter.

Gary Mosher has been a major force on the New England circuit for years. He had continued success this past week pushing his 2008 training UDRS to over .430. Mosher sent seven starters behind the gate this week and had five finish in the top two spots. Three of those were second place finishers in the Maine Sire Stakes and two were victories with impressive young pacers Major Venue and Cowboy Culture.

Stephen Mahar won nine races in two days at The Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle. On Friday, Mahar tallied four winners and followed that with five more wins on Saturday's card. Highlighted wins included three victories in the two year old Maine Sire Stakes. Those winners included No Peeking, Neutralizer and Isn't She Lovely.

The Joe Ricci Invitational Trot divisions started this past weekend at Scarborough. This series attracted two groups of very impressive trotters. None were more impressive than LIKEABATOUTAHELL, a 5 year old son of SJ's Caviar, who is owned by Michael Andrew of Gorham, Maine. Gordon Corey trained and drove LIKEABATOUTAHELL to a triumph in 1:58.0 on Sunday July 27. This mile tied the track record at Scarborough Downs for aged geldings. This was the trotter's 13th career victory in only 55 lifetime starts and increased his lifetime bankroll to over $275,000.

Michael Graffam had another spectacular week on the Maine circuit training three winners on the week. Two of those victories were in Presque Isle on Saturday, July 26 with Neutral Court and Signthepaige. Both are freshman pacers in the 2 year old colts and gelding divisions. Graffam is batting just under .500 UDRS as a trainer on the season. It should also be noted that Graffam has 7 wins and a second in 8 combined starts with 3 year old Sire Stakes pacer's Terry's Star Dragon and Maineiac Matt. Congrats are well deserved here!

Heath had an amazing week with a tally of 14 winners. His awesome week ended with six wins on Sunday at Bangor highlighted by a victory in the $25,000 Paul Bunyan Invitational with Chewy Gross in 1:55.1. Heath had several sire stakes wins including Pembroke Blitz in 1:59.1. There were several other fast miles for Heath on the week with Cam's Knight Dream in 1:58.4, Pembroke Primo in 1:58.0, Work out in 1:57.3 and Sandtana Score N in 1:58.4 to name a few. Kudos on a remarkable week!

A fantastic action packed week or racing led to a track record being set at Scarborough Downs for 3 year old pacers as SJ'S Character was victorious in a blazing mile of 1:56.1. Congrats to Ivan Davies and connections on this feat. In addition, 3 year old Maine stake trotter - Up Tempo set a new track and state record for 3 year old trotters by cruising to a win in 2:00.4 at Scarborough Downs. Congrats is in order to owner - Michael Andrew and driver/trainer Gordon Corey on such an impressive performance. All this being said - Chewy Gross gets the nod for the Hot Hooves of the week award. Chewy Gross made it three years in a row he has won at Bass Park in the Paul Bunyan Invitational Pace. This year he was victorious in 1:55.1 going wire to wire in an impressive field of pacers - getting the lion's share of the $25,000 purse. Chewy Gross is a 9 year old gelding by Jenna's Beach Boy with 57 lifetime victories and just shy of $830,000 made in his career. The pacer is owned by Martin Scharf of New York and was trained by Valerie Grondin and driven by Heath Campbell.

Check out these statistics for the week! 16 starters for Grondin on the week - 10 winners, two - 2nd place finishes and two- 3rd place finishes. That's 14 of 16 in the top 3. The week bolstered Grondin's already incredible UDRS to an eye popping .489. The above mentioned Chewy Gross was a Grondin trained entry. Other winners on the week from this barn included Mondo Hanover, Pembroke Best, Pembroke Annie, Pembroke Chance, Balanced Serenade, Pembroke Prayer, Pembroke Blitz, Pembroke Primo and Work Out.

It's hard to ignore Kim's statistics as he is now batting well over .400 UDRS for the 2008 season. He drove five times on the week and recorded three winners and one second place finish. The three winners were all Wendy Ireland trained trotters (nice week for her as well). These winners included Mar's Wark in 2:03.2, Classic Andy in 2:02.2 and He's Ah Corker in 2:01.0 in the $7500 winners over trot class at Scarborough Downs.

This was an exciting week filled with tremendous racing and lots of very quick miles. The nod for Hot Hooves went to Ideal Conditions for his 1:54.1 effort at Scarborough Downs on Friday in the $20,000 Mid Summer Invitational. This tied the third fastest mile ever paced at Scarborough Downs. Jonathan Roberts piloted the six year old Western Ideal gelding owned by Scott Dillon and trained by Joseph Nelson.

It is hard to argue with the numbers Shawn Nye put up this week. He sent seven horses to post and had four winners, one second place finish and one third. That equates to six out of seven starters landed in the top three! Shawn Nye appears to be on track towards regaining his incredible training form from 2007. Nye trained winners on the week included Back Spin in 1:59.2, Jovial Jim in 2:01.1, Prince of Hope in 1:58.2 and Rich Camelot in 1:56.2. Congrats!

Kevin Switzer Jr. recorded six winners on the week including back to back days at Scarborough Downs with 3 winners on each card. Highlights of these wins included speedy miles with Son of Arturo - 1:57.3 and All American Stash - 1:56.3 as well as a triumph with 20-1 long shot - Anamosa.

This 4 year old Blissfull Hall mare owned by Joel Wheeler and trained and driven by Drew Campbell has been a force to reckon with since touring in Maine her last five starts. She recently notched a win and second in the Lady Luck pacing series at Scarborough Downs and then romped to a convincing victory in the $10,000 final of that series. She then followed that up with a win in the Open mares class this weekend edging out the state's premier distaffer in Shady Sabrina in 1:57.2.

There were lots of hot barns statewide - but hard to argue with these statistics for Kevin Switzer, Sr. 13 starts on the week - five winners, two second place finishes and four thirds. That makes eleven out of thirteen in the top three! Winning horses included a stakes division winner in KDK Lemondrop Kid, Greenspring Megan, Anamosa, Armageddon K, and KDK Red Dragon.

It is tough to go against Shawn Gray as he amassed an amazing 13 wins on the week to continue his torrid winning pace. Shawn's Gray's name has been on here a lot lately so I'm going in a different direction with Shane Taggart. Taggart had a solid driving week picking up 4 winners on the week - all at Scarborough Downs. Back to back winners on Thursday included Malabar's Dream - 2:03 and Kingstar A - 1:59. These were followed with a triumph on Saturday with Teflon Tim - 200.4 and another victory on Sunday with Starburst Blue Chip - 1:59.4.

This six year old Shady Character mare owned by Robert Lewis of Belgrade, trained by Randy Bickmore and driven by Rob Dinning notched her third consecutive win in the optional $10,000 filly and mare claimers at Scarborough in a very quick 1:56.4. Sheeza Shady Lady now has seven victories and five second place finishes in only fifteen starts on the year! This most recent win has raised her yearly earnings to just over $22,000.

This category included several very hot barns on the week including Richard Bartlett and Bo Sowers to name a couple. Yet - the edge went to Steven Vafiades as he was a perfect 100% with all four of his trained starters making it to the winner's circle! The four winners included Sonofthebeach in 1:58.3 at Bangor on Thursday and Keystone Natalie in 1:57.3 on Saturday at Scarborough. The other two were in the mud on Sunday at Bangor with long-shot Slugger in 2:05.1 and Sand Sapphire in 2:01.2.

Shawn Gray, Rob Dinning and Heath Campbell (past 3 week's winners) continue to stay sharp with eleven, eight and seven wins respectively this week. Yet my vote goes to the elder Switzer. Kevin had 5 wins on the week highlighted by back to back winners on Saturday's Scarborough card with Joe's The Best - 1:58.0 and High Calibre N in 1:56.4. Switzer has continued his consistency in 2008 and is batting well over .300 on the year!

This 7 year old Ball and Chain gelding is not at all camera shy. This Joey Mosher owned, trained and driven pacer has just rattled off 6 consecutive victories at Bangor Raceway. Trebuchet appears well on his way to repeating back to back years with double digit victories in the win column! Congrats!

The Temple native had five starters on the week with four winners and one third. Winners included the hard hitting Rupert Rupert, Heather K, Doctor Will and Bush Delight. Nelson has been on a roll as of late to bring his UDRS to over .450.

The past two week's winners will share the award this week! The two amassed 19 wins amongst them. 10 wins for Dinning and 9 wins for Gray. Dinning recorded a 3 bagger on Saturday 6/14 at Scarborough and Gray notched 5 wins on Wednesday's Bangor card.

Back to back weeks this 4 year old Western Success gelding has won the feature event at Bangor Raceway. The Joseph Nelson trained, Dillon and Emery owned pacer has won each week in 1:57.2 on a track rated as good with a one second allowance.

Truly a sizzling hot barn throughout 2008. The Randy Bickmore trained horses went to the winner's circle five times in the week. All winners paced sub two minute miles: The Weather Witch 1:56.2 Art By Keene 1:57.0 Sheeza Shady Lady 1:59.1 Harmony Oaks John 1:59.3 and Dynamic Bubba 1:59.3.

The seven year old trotting mare trained and driven by Russell Pratt and owned by Somerset Standardbred Stable pulled off a major upset on Friday night at Bangor Raceway in a division of "The Black Bear Bash". She trotted to a gate to wire victory and paid an amazing $216.80 to win!

7 year old pacer trained by Joseph Nelson stopped the teletimer in a snappy 1:55.4 on a Scarborough oval rated as good with Shawn Gray driving. This is the 5th win in Maine since 2007 in which RUPERT RUPERT has won in Maine in 1:56 or better for owner Scott Dillon

Amazing mare tied her own state record for aged mares with a blistering time 1:55.2 at Scarborough. Has now won consecutive weeks in the mixed Open/Winners Over class at the Downs. The 7 year old mare now has a remarkable 37 lifetime wins!

Sets a divisional track record at Scarborough for aged trotting stallions, which also sets the state record for aged trotting stallions on a half mile track. The 1:58.3 clocking ties the mark for all tracks which is also held from the old Kite Track in 1941.

From the seven hole, takes air for most of the mile and wins the trotting top class in 2:00.4 for Jerry Watson. Second fastest mile of the weekend for both gaits and fastest trotting mile every in January for Maine.

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