Case triples while price plays abound

Bangor, Maine …. Walter Case, Jr came to the forefront at Bangor Raceway on Wednesday (May 27) as the veteran harness racing teamster engineered three winning journeys, featuring an eye-popping mutuel return in the first $5200 leg of Bangor’s pop up Trackmaster Trotting Series.

Nine horses drew into Wednesday’s trotting series, necessitating a trailer on the half-mile oval of historic Bass Park. Case and Empereurthebest FR drew the unenviable task of scoring from post eight and despite a convincing  come-from-behind win at 16-1 odds just the week prior, were sent to the gate as the longest of long shots at 34-1 odds. 

Settling a steady fifth off the gate, Case grabbed live coverage behind the well-regarded Motto (Heath Campbell) at the half  and willingly drafted as the outer-flow made serious headway toward the front-running Creative Angel (David Ingraham). 

By the top of the lane, Creative Angel’s wings began to falter under unaccustomed fractions while Motto and Empereurthebest FR fanned off into the stretch in a mad dash for the wire. Ultimately, though Case and his ‘race de cheval française’ reached their goal 3/4-length ahead of the hardworking Motto, stopping the clock in a seasonal best 1:59.3

EMPEREURTHEBEST FR REPLAY

The long-shot duo returned $70.20 for the win while keying a delectable $2 trifecta return of $5554.80.

Case completed his Bangor hat trick with a pair of Maine-bred winners from the Marc Tardiff stable, as Dude’s The Jet (1:59.3, $2.40) and Cheatin Fate (1:57.3, $4.00) each took new lifetime marks while returning more pedestrian mutuels. 

Driver McGwire Sowers joined Case in the three win club on Wednesday, scoring victories with Santa Fe Kat (1:57, $3.00), who came a stunning 56.3 back-half off a :59.2 opening circuit; No Better Joy (1:56.4, $9.00), one of two winners on the card for trainer Richard Allaby; and K D Overdrive (1:57.1, $6.60) as the 13-year-old Maritime-bred won for the 55th time in his career. 

Aaron Hall and David Ingraham also made repeat trips down Victory Lane on Wednesday with a pair of wins apiece while trainer Benson Merrill sent two winners to post from his roster, including Little Power, who retuned $112.80 to win with Merrill himself executing a brilliantly masterful and patient driving strategy, skimming the styrofoam to secure the neck margin at the wire.

In other Bangor news, business numbers at the historic oval continued along their upward trajectory  as $187,795 was handled from all sources on Wednesday. This number represents the largest handle of the season thus far at Bangor and the tenth time in ten seasonal performances that the handle has eclipsed the $100,000 mark. 

Bangor is currently averaging in excess of $15,000 per dash this season while the average daily handle is up over 66% over the same period in 2025.

Live harness racing resumes on Sunday (May 31) with post time slated for 12:10 pm (EDT).

The month of June will then bring about a schedule change as Bangor’s popular Sunday matinees will temporarily be replaced by Friday cards on June 5, 12, 19, and 26. Post time for the Friday performances will be set for 12:10 pm. 

Bangor Raceway will continue its 3:00 pm Wednesday cards through the month of July and the well-attended Sunday programs will return to the schedule on July 5. 

For those not able to come to the track, wagering and live video for Bangor Raceway, as well as hundreds of harness and thoroughbred racetracks across the world, is available on Hollywood Races at www.hollywoodraces.com.

For complete information regarding live racing, simulcast wagering, gaming, dining, and hotel accommodations at Bangor’s Hollywood Casino and Raceway, please visit the website at www.hollywoodcasinobangor.com.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results

by Mike Sweeney for Bangor Raceway