Page 4 - Ron Cushing News Today

Two full fields of eight three-year-old pacers highlight the first round of Maine Sire Stakes action at Bangor on Wednesday (June 14), which marks the start of the 18-week season of New England’s premier harness racing showcase. 

Muscle Gene took the $5,500 top trot at Cumberland on Friday (June 9) afternoon, winning his second start in row at the Southern Maine oval.

Muscle Gene came from off the pace with his owner Ron Cushing in the bike to capture the opening race trot on an abbreviated Friday, June 2 program at Cumberland.

Under a line drive for most of the mile, Booraa N scored an impressive gate to wire victory with the mile of her life in the $25,000 Winners-Over Pace for fillies and mares at Plainridge Park on Tuesday afternoon (May 23). 

Homegrown reinsman Nick Graffam started Saturday’s (May 20) Cumberland program needing just one victory to push him over the edge to the 1,000-win threshold. That moment finally arrived in the eighth race, where a horse named Four Finger Floyd put the Maine-native into the four-figure win category.

A pair of paces for fillies and mares topped the card at Plainridge Park on Tuesday afternoon (May 2) and both winners flaunted front-stepping foot.

Making his first start since January 27 but coming off two impressive qualifiers at Northfield Park, Patrikthepiranha A returned to Massachusetts and looked to be in mid-season form after winning the $25,000 Winners-Over pacing feature in impressive style at Plainridge Park on Thursday afternoon (April 20).

New Brunswick native Mike Stevenson reached a career milestone when he drove his own trainee Rojas Blue Chip to victory on Friday (April 15) at First Tracks Cumberland.

Driver Andrew Harrington swept the early Daily Double, which included the first division of the second leg of the Rick Cushing Memorial on Tuesday (Dec. 14) at Cumberland.

Third leading driver Dan Deslandes made a big leap toward catching up with the Cumberland drivers colony front-runners, winning three races on Tuesday (Dec. 7), including the Grumpy Old Man Pace.