IPO Blue Chip has been showing that she’s the best trotter in the State of Maine for much of this spring but a plucky little trotter named Victory Tax has been chasing her down. In their last three head-to-head starts Victory Tax has had to settle for runner up honors while IPO Blue Chip garnered all the attention as she established a brand new state of Maine trotting record (1:57 flat) last week at Scarborough Downs.

The tables were turned on Sunday (6/17) as Victory Tax drove hard to the early lead and relentlessly held IPO Blue Chip at bay, recording a track record of his own, equaling the mark for Aged Geldings in 1:57.3.

“The luck of the draw was on our side today,” said driver Drew Campbell. “I was bound and determined to cut the mile. Going into the race I’m driving the horse to win, not for any track records. Halfway up the backstretch I pulled the plugs and said, ‘let him roll’ because that mare is going to be awful tough to beat. When I got out by 5 or 6 lengths, I drove him down the stretch to give him a shot at the record. This horse deserves some recognition. He’s got a record of 1:58.1 and he’s been beating that record every week.”

Victory Tax, the 6-year-old son of Victory Sam, owned by Kyle Gibbs of Brooks, Maine and trained by Steven Vafiades, also holds the 4-year-old track record and was named the 2011 Trotter of the Year at Scarborough Downs.

“As I said before,” Campbell continued, “this horse deserves some recognition. He may not be the best trotter in the State of Maine but he’s not far from it.”

In other news, driver Kevin Switzer cemented his hold on top of the leaders board by driving 4 horses to victory on Sunday.