Northeast Harness News, March 1981
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MARCH •••• 0 I By Tony Aliberti As predictable as the thaw, Lewiston Raceway ushers in the Spring. In addition several stables are due to arrive from Canada, with the This tradition has been a part of racing for more than a decade and seems Jamison horses already in action. destined to continue. Only other years the wait seemed long~r and the It is in the best interest of Lewiston Raceway to produce a successful anticipation more pronounced. · ' . meet, especially now. They are locked in a complex struggle for leadership This year Scarborough Downs tried to bridge the Winter. It cut the among the other tracks around the state, most notably Scarborough Downs. "down time" in racing to just three weeks, and extended the season four This year the month of February received the w rmth th t January weeks into the new year. stole. Le iston's opening card was raced under ideal conditions. Th grand Then with all the furor pver dates and the allocation procedure Lewiston stand was packed, with nary a seat available anywhere. Raceway's first card seemed to come almost ahead of itself. That ~irst afternoon catapulted the start of the 1981 harness season, set The place has been bursting at the seams since Fall, so the opening a new Lewtston raceway mutuel record handle of $157,000, $10,000 more throng should have come as no surprise. All during the Scarborough winter than the previous high, and brought back memories of other high times at meet, it was Lewiston Raceway which housed most of the horses. With other that track. New England tracks at a standstill, the horse population has concentrated in Only ~ few short years ago Lewiston Raceway was th "in" place on a Maine. Every barn is full in Lewiston, and new arrivals are being squeezed in Saturday naght. That was when they hosted the invitational howdowns stall by stall. with Time Clock, Bret's Bov and Mr. Suffolk. The horses are all retir d to With the focus of regional racing back to Maine ma y familiar faces stud, and some of the zip of those times seemed to have been lost. have returned. All top Maine teamsters have already checked in and driving But Sunday's crowd was generating its own momentum, and a few honors will be contested by Leigh Fitch, Freeman Parker, Willie Parker, more ~ood days ~ill mean a dramatic rise in the purse structure, p rhaps Dude Goodblood and Walter Case, Jr. attractmg top rankmg New England performers once again. Add to the list names like Don Richards~ Russel Wing and Doug Gray One afternoon does not rna e a meet, but the first step wa urely and a host of occasional tea ter , nd h inten it of comp ti io head d e ri ht dir w n i ceway o n d he 1981 the track becomes evident. , ~ i I · , I ' - : : " - - - - - MARCH 1981 LEWI T l An Editorial: SALEM VOTES "YES" TO NEW SPORTS COMPLEX By referendum, on Wednesday March 11, the Salem! N~w Hampshire citizens voted to accept the Delaware North package wh1ch mcludes ~hor oughbred, harness and dog racing at a new sports complex to b~ bu1lt_ at Rockingham Park in the near future. It appears that the real sellmg pomt proved to be the plan for Delaware North to also bring the Bruins hockey team with them to this new site. Although Salem has previously rejected the dogs, the total package was too appealing to this town that has experi enced serious economic problems since the Rockingham fire. The State of Massachusetts, in an effort to counteract this move by the Bruins, has issued increased racing dates to all tracks (Thoroughbred, harness and dogs) in the state. The area will be totally saturated with all types of racing in this defensive move by the Massachusetts legislators in an effort to retain dollars for the treasury. Delaware North which owns the Bruins, has been offered a magnanimous tax package by the State of New Hampshire. Harness industry people are very apprehensive about inclusion of dog racing in the p~ckage, as they have experienced the results of this at Hinsdale Raceway, With a token number of dates---as the dogs prevailed! Harness racing with its broad base of economically involved fringe areas; equipment suppliers, feed companies, veterinarians, real estate people,. truck & trailer dealers etc., has a far reaching impact on the area's economy--as harness racing is now a year round business. Dog racing, although a sound enough investment ~n the su_rface, most assuredly cannot have the far reaching economic GROUP BUS TOUR TO 1981 HAMBLETONIAN Impact enJoyed by the Standardbred industry. It is hoped that Delaware North will nurture this faction of the package, realizing the far-reaching Gordon Clapp Travel Services, 84 Harlow Street, Bangor, Maine, has effect that this has on meeting the needs of the total area. given the following information regarding the costs of round trip transporta Jean Emerson, Boom Road, Saco, Maine 04072 tion and overnight accommodations to see the 1981 Hambletonian at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. 11 HORSES IN TRAINING AT WOODSTOCK The 0liver Wendell Holmes" Stakes for 3 year olds with a purse of by Doug Thompson $25,000 is also on August 7 and the Hanover Yearling Sale at this time, would round off this package. The barns at Connell Park Raceway in Woodstock, New Brunswick are filled to a near capacity with 83 head on hand for winter training. Several The price for 2 nights (August 6th & ?th) is: trainers on the grounds are familiar faces at various Maine ovals throughout Single Double Triple Quad the season. Clayton Dickison, a regular on the Maine circuit, has eleven head $158.00 $124.00 $116.00 $109.00 on the go-with son, Donald, assisting with the training chores. Clayton and These prices include roundtrip transportation, Greyhound Bus Lines, Jed Sutherland of Woodstock jointly own Alston Hanover (Columbia George), Bangor - Meadowlands, N.J. and transfers to and from the racetrack. Ac Kermit Hanover (Best Of All), MacBan Columbia (Columbia George), Stone commodations are at the Howard Johnson's in Seacaucus, N.J. a short gate Fella (Most Happy Fell a), Joanne Hanover (Albatross), Lustra's Best distance from the raceway and 10 minutes from Manhattan. New Jersey (Best Of All), and Eastern's Best (a Best of All two year old}. With Doug State tax and baggage handling are also included. All tours are based on the Thompson of Houlton, Maine, Clayton owns Ata Lady, a three year old minimum of 30 paying passengers and are subject to increases due to fuel Rum Customer filly. Rounding out the stable are Bingo Boy (Surprise surcharges. News), Nippy News (Surprise News) and Columbia Luke (Columbia George), If interested, please contact Clark P. Thompson, 51 Cresmont Road, winner of the 1980 Lewiston Fall Pacing Championship. Bangor, Maine 04401. Rick Armstrong, a Saint John native now wintering at Woodstock, HOME PHONE: 947-3579 I · OFFICE PHONE: 947-4501 made his appearan~e on the Maine racing scene last season ! Rick has twelve in his stable including his own Tarport Count four year old, Hug Me Tight. He "DOG" CANCER PERCHED TO STRIKE AGAIN has Homestead Boy and Linda June for Mack King; Wake Up Charlie for Art Ramey of Fredericton; Darky Adios, Charlotte's Anfang (Fastway-two SO that nobody gets the wrong idea, I would like to begin by pointing out year old filly), and Charlotte's Junge (Harry The Wig-two year old colt) for that most everyone in the Harness Industry is involved because of their love Alfred Moeller of Sussex, N.B.; Robbi-Belle Lee for Steve MeHaffey and for the animals and the sport. In most cases this love doesn't stop at horses, Gerald Alexander; Watch Newport for Stanco Stables of Saint John; Good it includes all animals, so the point is, we do not hate dogs. However, in the Little Shadow for Alfred Moeller and Gerald Alexander; Lucifer Mir for case of harness racing the situation is quite different as it becomes a matter Steve MeHaffey; and MacMor Aristocrat (a two year old by John The Third) of survival. Dog racing is a cancer eating away at our agriculturally oriented for Sean Dooley of Saint John. industry. Ken Cumberland has Wisper Nifty Nick and Wisper Pattie who both You can pick up a newspaper almost any day and read about some en raced on the fair circuit last year. Bob Brown has Bayside Falcon and a two vironmental or ecology · groups protesting building a dam or power plant year old Mr. Skipper colt, Robroy Skipper. Bob Greer is training Shirleys because a snale-darter or a beaver pond will be endangered. Yet when the Speed and Capital Miss, a three year old filly by Otis Hanover. Others that horsemen try to save thousands of acres of open land and pastures by breed are at Woodstock that raced in Maine last season are Restigouche Star and ing raising, training and racing horses, attention comes when it's too late. First Skipper (owned by Alton Bustard and Charles Carhoun); Jeff J. (Ralph Nobody can see the true value of our far reaching agricultural industry. Phillips); May Day Stone, Calumet Greenwood, and Election Ballot (Robert While the New Hampshire House is trying to chop off the much needed Hume); and.Tegwen (John Davies). Sires Stakes Program, Maine Breeders are happily looking at $300,000 in Dean Bustard has eight on the go headed by Nugget News and Royal Sires Stakes money.