August 16, 2026, by Chris Tully, for Maine Sire Stakes
(Joe Shaw photos)
TOPSHAM, ME – It took three $15,00-plus dashes of Maine’s 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers to complete that division’s visit to Topsham Fair, closing out the week-long meet on Saturday (August 15), with track records falling by the wayside.
In the first $15,153 split of the Maine Sire Stakes, an early non-wagering race, it was all Top Notch Treasure who has continued to build on his unblemished record. Scoring from pylon position, driver Mike Stevenson defended his ground and sent the son to State Treasurer out on a wire-to-wire circuit of winning calls.
Setting early fractions of :30.1 and 1:01.2 the first signs of a challenge came from Agent James Bond (Kevin Switzer Jr.) as the field hit the third station in 1:31.1. At the head of the stretch the aggressor was within three parts of a length from the pacesetter, who dug in gamely and rolled down the Topsham lane to win by a measured length in 2:01.
Trained by Christopher Dubois for owner Steven Moskowitz Racing, he was bred in Maine by Lynn-Marie Plouffe and now has four straight victories this season.
South St Justin (Nick Graffam) finished third.
The second $15,324 division was yet another pillar-to-post romp by The Gucci Man and Kevin Switzer Jr., which ended with the colt breaking the track record at the Topsham oval.
Setting swift early fractions of :28.1 and 1:00, the son of Dude’s The Man was stung to the opening panel by Painter’s Treasure (Andy Harrington), but settled into his preferred tempo-setting position. Following that early tussle that resulted in a 16-length gap to the rest of the pack, The Gucci Man set a comfortable 1:31.3 third panel with Painter’s Treasure still in a tight pocket.
Through the final turn Switzer Jr. let out a notch on his unbeaten freshman and cruised home in 2:00.3, the fastest division of the afternoon. The winning time was a new track record for 2-year-old pacing colts and shaved nearly a second off the 2:01.2 record set in 2002 by That’s It That’s All and driver Jason Bartlett.
Owned, trained and bred by Marc Tardif, he was barred from the wagering while posting a :29 final quarter in his fourth straight score. Painter’s Treasure finished second but paid $3.60 as ‘the mutual winner’ with Justcallmebuddy (Aaron Hall) finishing third.
In the third and final $15,153 division it was a new winner who claimed his first pari-mutuel victory over the historic Topsham Fair surface.
When the gate sprung it was Steev Oz Ten (Nick Graffam) who briefly held pylon position, then came Two Bolts and Mike Cushing who took the early lead from post four. Duderrific (Dave Ingraham) had continued their push for the lead while parked through the :31.4 opening panel, and ultimately landed on the point.
The field was stretched out during that opening quarter but managed to tighten up a bit through the 1:02.1 midway marker. A precocious pocket-sitting Two Bolts allowed Duderrific to put three lengths on the field as he passed the third station in 1:31.4, with One Last Deal (Kevin Switzer Jr.) marching first over around the final turn.
As the pacers roared down the stretch it was all Duderrific who picked up his first lifetime win in 2:00.4, just a tick off the newly established track record.
Trained by James Heap for owner-breeder M And L of Delaware, the son of Dude’s The Man returned $8.80.
One Last Deal finished second; Two Bolts was third.
Looking ahead, the harness racing action moves north to Skowhegan and kicks off on Tuesday (August 18) with the 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers, followed on Wednesday (Aug. 19) by the sophomore distaff pacers.
For more information about the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes, follow them on Facebook @MaineBreedersAssociation, or go to their website: MaineSireStakes.com
