Cumberland Fair opens with popular pop-ups

CUMBERLAND, ME – The Down East supporters will move from Farmington to the 152^and annual Cumberland Fair on Sunday (September 22nd) with eleven harness races on the legendary oval in southern Maine.

Many of Maine's rural fairs are known for their tractor pulling events and draft horse demonstrations, but the Cumberland Fair was first held in 1868, with harness racing as the main “Maine” attraction. It remains one of the largest annual agricultural events in the southern part of the Pine Tree State.

Harness racing at the Cumberland Fairgrounds begins at 1:30 p.m. on opening day, Sunday (Sept. 22). Full tickets are scheduled for eight racing dates through Sunday (Sept. 29), with a special 11 a.m. start time for the final date.

The main events on the opening card are the first runnings of five individual pop-up series, which are trotting and pacing events with conditioning and/or “TrackMaster” ratings. The series finals and top-tier overnights carry total purses of over $75,000 and will be held along with the finals of the Maine Sire Stakes for two-year-olds, with purses estimated at $300,000, on Saturday, September 28.

Opening day on Sunday (September 22) will feature 11 races, with each race featuring a pop-up series leg with prize money of up to $5,200.

The Maine Sire Stakes will continue at the Cumberland Fair on Wednesday (September 25) with the three-year-old mares' trotters, then on Thursday (September 26) with the three-year-old stallions' trotters, and the three-year-old trotters will complete the second grade divisions on Friday (September 27).

Following the show, the track's 19-day Winter Festival begins on November 2nd, running for two days, Saturday through Sunday, throughout November. In December, Fridays begin with three-day race weekends through December 22nd, with our popular Au Revoir race ceremonies scheduled for December 21st.

For more information, see our websiteor find us on Social Media.

from Chris Tullyfor First Tracks Cumberland