Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. I X A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 8 14 will give us more horses to enter the box here." Its season runs from May 5 to November 9, holding afternoon races on Triple Crown days and otherwise in the evening. Scarborough's season runs from March 31 to Dec. 9, with a lighter schedule during the fairs. Down but not out Scarborough Downs, built in 1950 to host a one-month summer thoroughbred meet, has been overstretched for years. "It was never built to do what we're asking it to do right now," says Mike Sweeney, who handles marketing and publicity in addition to lobbying and serving as the track's announcer and handicapper. e 58-year-old has known the track since childhood and started working there in 1981 selling tickets, when there was racing six days a week from Memorial to Labor Day. " e place was mobbed every single night, and there were probably about 300 employees working here at the time." Like a number of other employ- ees who've made a career at the track, he juggles multiple responsibilities. Sweeney does it with aplomb, doing his handicapping shtick on camera before pressing the button to play the bugle that calls riders to the post, then dashing to the window to call the next race sporting binoculars and sunglasses. A licensed harness driver himself, a few years ago he ducked out of the announcer's box to participate in an amateur race, called by one of the reg- ular drivers. After winning the race, Sweeney dropped his horse off at the paddock and drove back to announce the next race. "It was fun," he recalls. Scarborough Downs marked a turning point in January when it was purchased by two sets of local brothers — William, Marc and Rocco "Roccy" Risbara III of Risbara Bros. and Peter and Richard Michaud, formerly of Michaud Distributors — for $6.7 million from the Terry family. ey bought the track and the 480 acres on which it sits. As the new owners focus on long- term plans to develop the property, they are happy to let the Terrys run racing operations for at least two more years. "It's not a secret that the harness racing industry has been in decline, and also that Scarborough Downs has struggled because of it," says Rocco Risbara on the group's behalf. "But that track is part of our town's history. It also is home to 60-plus jobs and we wanted to give the Terry family a chance to preserve all of that. We're all hopeful that without the cost burden to shoulder the property and taxes, the business will have more fl exibility to become profi table once again." Denise Terry, the track's vice presi- dent of fi nance, says that while it took her family a long time to sell, she feels they made the right choice. "It was a kind of win-win situation that we were able to sell it, and still be able to be here as a race track," she says. "It was important for me and my mother to know that the jobs were still here for the people. I love the industry, and I also don't want to go out and fi nd another job. I've dedi- cated my whole life to this." In hopes of bringing more people to the track and luring folks back, 2018 rac- ing highlights include the return of the Mid-Summer Classic with a $25,000 purse and a Maine Sire Stakes Preview for two- and three-year-olds. Sweeney, who has just a $30,000 annual marketing budget to work with, is also putting energy into social media, mainly Facebook and Instagram. Rocknalltheway to victory Back at the track on a blustery Saturday, regulars fi lling out betting slips in front of TV screens don't seem to mind the absence of slot machines the owners would love to have, while horse co- owner Cindy Pelletier is outside cheer- ing on one of her "fi ve babies." " is is my chance to be a soccer mom," she says before seeing six-year- old gelding Rocknalltheway whiz by. "Good boy, Roc!" e horse, driven by Dan Deslandes, goes on to win the one-mile race in 1.59.2, matching the record set by Secretariat in the 1973 Kentucky Derby — though he had to travel ¼ mile further. R C , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t @ . a n d @ THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE IS Because Construction Management Design/Build General Contracting Engineering Sheridan Construction www.sheridancorp.com Fairfield Portland 207-453-9311 207-774-6138 » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Cindy Pelletier after victory by her horse, Rocknalltheway, in a race at Scarborough Downs on April 14.

• Cover