It was a huge day for State of Maine connections on Saturday as Mrs. Wyeth’s Union Rags won the Belmont Stakes and Kevin Gee’s IPO Blue Chip obliterated one of the oldest track records on the books at Scarborough Downs.

IPO Blue Chip, the 5-year-od daughter of Yankee Glide, toured the Seaside Oval in a blistering 1:57 flat to claim victory in the $10,000 Triple Crown Trot invitational, besting the standard established by Friendly Face (Esa Lahtinen) in 1988’s Legislator Trot, and equaled by Dink Adoo (Robert Sumner) in 2008, and Pembroke Prayer (Heath Campbell) in the 2010 edition of the Joseph Ricci Memorial Trot.

Shawn Thayer expertly steered the Randy Bickmore-trainee quickly to the top, never to look back, as they cut fractions of 28, 57.2, 1:26.4 en route to claiming the record. “When Shawn got to the three-quarter mark,” said owner Kevin Gee, “he thought the track record was within reach. She had plenty left in the tank. At the top of the stretch she finally saw Victory Tax coming at her and she took right off.”

“Going into the race, the first order of business was to win,” continued Gee, “but if the opportunity arose, we certainly wanted to challenge the track record – the State record. She’s the fastest trotter ever to win in Maine.”

Records are certainly made to be broken but many standards, such as Secretariat’s mark in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, somehow feel like they will never be challenged. Such was the case with Friendly Face’s 1988 benchmark, and so it seems with IPO Blue Chip’s achievement on Saturday.

“I was here when Friendly Face threw in that freakishly fast mile. Not only was it a track record, but it was the first sub 2-minute trot ever recorded n the State of Maine,” said veteran rail bird, Sally Hinckley. “I feel privileged to be here all these years later to see that record fall.”

“IPO Blue Chip is a true professional,” remarked Gee. “All the credit goes to her, Randy Bickmore and Shawn Thayer – they do all the work. I do nothing but cheer them on.”

In other news, Wholly Louy and driver Heath Campbell withstood the late and persistent charge from Art’s Sake (Ron Cushing) to claim victory in the $10,000 renewal of the fabled Dirigo Pace. The veteran son of Cam Luck stopped the teletimer in a blistering 1:53.3 to register the 4th fastest mile ever clocked in the 62-year history of Scarborough Downs.