On the first spring-like day following a long and dreary winter, a large and enthusiastic crowd welcomed the return of harness racing to Scarborough Downs on Saturday (3/29).

Drew Campbell wasted precious little time as he mounted the defense of his 2013 driving title, winning the first race of the season with JJS Jet, stopping the clock in a sizzling 1:57.2, the fastest clocking of the afternoon.

As a precursor to what promises to be the deepest driver colony in years, eight different drivers took their turn in the winner’s circle. Of particular note, one of those winning drivers, Eddie Davis, Jr., was making his first state of Maine appearance in over fifteen years. The former Scarborough driving champ is setting up summer residency returning to the scene of former glories after campaigning successfully on the Delaware circuit in recent years. His name, combined with the Campbell brothers (Drew and Heath), former track driving champions Gary Mosher, Shawn Thayer and Kevin Switzer Sr., and with the up-and-coming talents of Dan Deslandes, Kevin Switzer, Jr., and Steve Nason, should provide plenty of thrills for the Scarborough fans this year.

In other news, Scarborough Downs completed a test of its new simulcast uplink capacity, successfully sending the video and audio signal by way of closed circuit internet system to all state of Maine off track betting locations. Phase two of the process will involve a nationwide roll-out, which should be completed within the next two weeks.

Live racing resumes Sunday afternoon with a 1:05 pm starting time. Next weekend, the live racing schedule expands to three days a week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; each going to post at 1:05 pm.