Maine race dates 2023

[whiptherabbit]

Anyone have the dates? Haven’t saw anything as of yet.


Thanks

[HarnessFan1981]

Bangor - https://www.hollywoodcasinobangor.com/-/media/png/east/hollywood-bangor/pdfs/racing-forms/2023-racing-calendar.pdf

Cumberland, site isn't updated but shows racing from April 14 to August 5 & November 5 to December 24.

Not sure on fairs.

[chief yogi]

cumberland total 51 days. all of last years fairs race about the same but farmington, cumberland fair and fryeburg all sadly are dropping 1 day of racing. less days again total in maine this year.

[Locked in with pace]

what was the reason for dropping days?

[Wawajones]

A few less dates is not bad.  There was talk of Oxford racing their week, but just talk.  That week is blank.  With the season limited by weather (pretty hard to get started before mid April), and limited stock without many Canadians coming in, plus Plainridge, the number of dates is adequate.  The fairs often had 8 or 9 races with short fields.  One less date per week with 10 races is better.  As long as slot money comes in, the money is there.  Overall, good race calendar for stock available.

[Locked in with pace]

Good Point. What is the latest on the new track in Saco? Is it going to happen or just talk? What I hear will be at this location will not be built overnight.

[Mbdreamer]

Good Point. What is the latest on the new track in Saco? Is it going to happen or just talk? What I hear will be at this location will not be built overnight.

Built when pigs fly…….

[Locked in with pace]

Great!  Elton Musk's company just invented solar-powered wings for pigs so they can fly!

[chief yogi]

no new track so far not a shovel has turned in the ground. good points have been made on the race season which really is april to end of november. december would be ok racing at night on a frozen rather than sloppy/uneven track and also on short fields at fairs and cumberland.   question is are the fields short because maine has lost so many owners due to less oppertunites to race, 132 date season yet 2016 the old downs raced 110 by their self. the purses have gone up so why has the owners gone away? its a horse shortage caused by an owner shortage.  also i believe the amount of maine bred horses was down to something like 57 this year. why with the money they race for.  maine might be at the right amount of dates but i still wonder. and what about a whole week in late august with zero dates. prime time of year.

[Wawajones]

Horse shortage due mostly to lack of horses coming in from Atlantic Canada.  They stopped coming during pandemic and have not come back.  Plus, owners that can afford better stock are racing at Plainridge.  Five years ago, Plainridge was not such an attractive option.  Thirdly, owners are getting old and dying.  The younger grnerstion is not interested in horse ownership.

[Locked in with pace]

Should be interesting who races where in April. Both Cumberland and Plainridge tracks will be open, the money at Plainridge is fantastic, racing is much tougher but a lot of trainers will not be ready.

[Mbdreamer]

no new track so far not a shovel has turned in the ground. good points have been made on the race season which really is april to end of november. december would be ok racing at night on a frozen rather than sloppy/uneven track and also on short fields at fairs and cumberland.   question is are the fields short because maine has lost so many owners due to less oppertunites to race, 132 date season yet 2016 the old downs raced 110 by their self. the purses have gone up so why has the owners gone away? its a horse shortage caused by an owner shortage.  also i believe the amount of maine bred horses was down to something like 57 this year. why with the money they race for.  maine might be at the right amount of dates but i still wonder. and what about a whole week in late august with zero dates. prime time of year.

The underlying reason for all of this is the lack of certainty about the future of racing in Maine.  Rightfully, no one with any fiscal smarts wants to invest in broadmares, stud fees, and schooling if there is no confidence that the industry will even be around in a couple of years to recoup the investment. The unsustainable economic model that currently keeps harness racing on life support (dependency on the government dole from casino revenue) will have the plug pulled by Augusta when the politicians figure out that cash can be put toward their pet projects.

[Locked in with pace]

Does Cumberland management apply for one-year licenses or do they have a multi-year agreement to race? I can't believe they are making money with their handle when almost all of it is off track. Last year they cut back on making it fan friendly. Tough to go to the races with no place for food or drink. Curious how fan-friendly it would be this year.

[the double]

Cumberland Management, if there is some, has ZERO interest in having track fans.  It is a ? track only interested in sending their signal.  what to do, what to do?

[chief yogi]

correct. cumberland is open to export the signal and make money for the management team. zero effort to attract anyone on track. should just lock up the place.  the casino money pays for all expenses. the 3 percent of off track handle makes them a few dollars.  sadly the empty grandstand will make it easy for augusta to just spend the money on something else. the laws get changed and thats it for racing.