AUBURN — Ronald R. Hafford, 81, a Clover Manor resident in Auburn, passed away Friday, March 23. He was born in Presque Isle, the son of Kenneth and Alma Hafford. He attended local schools and was an avid basketball player. Ron was a driver and trainer for MHRA. He drove his first standard bred horse race […]
harness racing
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Bettor sues harness-racing trainer for loss linked to doping
NEW YORK (AP) — An aggrieved harness-racing bettor has gone to court to recoup more than $31,000 in winnings he said he was cheated out of when a doped horse won a race in New Jersey two years ago. Leading figures in harness racing said they had never before heard of such a lawsuit, which […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine harness racing gives Walter Case Jr. another chance after prison
Walter Case Jr. Nine years after he was released from prison for stabbing his wife with a steak knife, Walter Case Jr. will be back in the stirrups Saturday at Scarborough Downs for an afternoon of harness racing. A legendary career that began 40 years ago at the Bangor Fair and totaled more than 11,000 […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
A good bad year: Doping’s effect on harness racing
Many in the industry say 2015 marked a turning point for the long-suffering sport of harness racing. The bad news came first: Several well-known trainers in Maine faced charges of drugging horses with excess amounts of cobalt, a performance-enhancing substance banned by national horseracing officials three years prior. The 2015 cobalt cases — as well […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Oxford Hills
Veteran harness racer offers rides in Oxford this weekend
OXFORD — From the far end of the stable, Fred Ward Jr. poses a question like he’s said it before and expects to repeat himself this weekend. “So, what do you know about horses?” Ward hooked the bridle on a chestnut-colored, 10-year-old mare named Jumpstart via thin metal links to the rafters and he began […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Harness racing: Final trip to winners’ circle for Jimmy Jordan
An obscure painting of an illustrious harness racer with deep Maine ties sent his son on a a journey of self-discovery and inspired an amateur historian to push for the induction of the driver with into The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y. During his research, Stephen D. Thompson, creator and […]
Posted inLocal Sports, Maine, sj-web
Back in stable condition: Harness racing to honor Don Richards
CUMBERLAND — Don Richards would rather not talk about the accident that nearly killed him. “I don’t feel any pain, so I don’t want people feeling sorry for me,” he said. Less than a year ago, 81-year-old Richards was lying on a barn floor in a pool of his own blood. He was surrounded by […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Oakland man sues over injuries sustained after gate malfunction at Windsor Fair
AUGUSTA — An Oakland man injured by a malfunctioning starting gate during a harness race at the Windsor Fairgrounds in 2010 has filed a lawsuit after efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement failed. Christopher Charrier filed suit last week in Kennebec County Superior Court. The suit says the 43-year-old Charrier was one of five people […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Oakland man sues over injuries from starting gate at Windsor Fair
AUGUSTA (AP) — An Oakland man injured by a malfunctioning starting gate during a harness race at the Windsor Fairgrounds in 2010 has filed a lawsuit after efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement failed. Christopher Charrier filed suit last week in Kennebec County Superior Court. The suit said the 43-year-old Charrier was one of five […]
Posted inMaine
Scarborough Downs agrees to build hotel, complex first if state approves new racino
Fewer people are playing the ponies: Off-track and racetrack wagers in Maine were down again in 2013. The figures were released Wednesday, the same day the Maine House gave initial approval to a new twist on Scarborough Downs’ effort to win a racino in the Legislature: It would have to build a hotel, an entertainment […]