Shady Sabrina remained the Queen of the Local Scene as she claimed victory in the $25,000 final in The Mid-Summer Classic Pacing Series in front of an enthusiastic crowd as Scarborough Downs celebrated its 60th Anniversary.

Widely regarded as one of the top aged pacing mares along the Eastern Seaboard, Shady Sabrina scored her 12th seasonal victory in Scarborough’s marquis pacing event, remaining undefeated in State of Maine competition this year, now proudly boasting a current five-race win streak.

Driver Kevin Switzer engineered a brilliant raceway strategy as he hustled Shady Sabrina quickly to the lead and then played the rest of the field like a chess master keeping all the horses stacked across the raceway like so many chess pieces on the board.

The duo stole the opening quarter, reaching the first marker timed in a pedestrian 28.3 then further controlled the tempo reaching the midway point in a leisurely 58.1 as chief contender Doubleshotascotch (Heath Campbell) pulled to the outside to engage. Up the back stretch they rambled, with Shady Sabrina, the lone mare in the race, taunting, “come and get me, boys!” but none of the boys were ever able to overcome her incredible stamina and Kevin Switzer’s masterfully-executed driving strategy. The mile was timed in 1:54.3, the second fastest mile raced at Scarborough Downs this season.

“When the draw came out and I saw we had the outside post, I knew we’d have to put ourselves in a strategic position,” said Kevin Switzer. “Surprisingly, it’s easy to leave from post six at Scarborough, and we were able to make the top before we reached the first turn. She’s a tough mare, and given the soft early fractions, they were going to have a hard time getting past Shady today.”

Driver Heath Campbell remarked to Switzer following the race, “It’s nice to have a voice-activated mare. When you said ‘Go, mom,’ she went!”

Shady Sabrina is owned by the Golden Hour Stable and KDK Standardbreds. Today’s victory pushes her seasonal bankroll to $128,500. This was the 63rd career victory for the 8-year-old daughter of Cam’s Dignity.

Doubleshotascotch was second, and Tireman (Ron Cushing) was third.

Live racing returns to the Downs on Sunday at 1:30 pm with two divisions of the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes races with 3-year-old pacing colts.