Harness racing, especially for those who depend upon it for their livelihood, requires an admixture of skill, determination and luck. The last component in the above equation, perhaps more than any other times takes over the primary position. If anyone wants to verify the truth of that statement, he need only ask Bernie Charlton. He'll verify it . . . in spades.

Charlton, a Canadian, races everywhere in Maine  -- Scarborough Downs, Bangor Raceway, and the fairs. You name it, and he has raced there. He usually secures a couple -- at least one -- new horse every year by scouring the claiming ranks at Woodbine Racecourse in Toronto. His son works there, training and driving.

This year resembles the last couple, but with a change. He claimed a couple of horses this year, one in particular that he still regrets a little. That horse's name: Rodeo Du Ruisseau, a seven year-old pacer, who took his lifetime record last year timed in 1:51.4 at Woodbine.

Charlton liked him and his son liked him, so Bernie claimed him and brought him stateside.

"When I got him, he had some problems with his feet," said Charlton, "so I worked on them and straightened them out. Then I began to race him and he started winning. One day I asked the race secretary if he could write a $15,000 claimer. He did, so I entered the horse, and he got claimed.

"I talked to the fellow that claimed him, and told him I really didn't want to lose him, so the fellow put him back in that same class, and I claimed him back."

Apparently, that's when his mind went blank. He entered him right back in that same class, and the same fellow claimed him again, except this time, the fellow did not reenter him in another claiming race. He chose to race him in conditioned races, protecting his investment.

And a wise investment it was, as the horse continued to thrive. To show the extent of his flourishing, last week he won the Invitational at Scarborough Downs for his new connections for a purse of $7,000. Rodeo has won over half his starts this year, and when he doesn't win, he finishes close up. And those purse dollars keep piling up, particularly for the new connections, much to Charlton's chagrin.

But Bernie understands the claiming business. Whenever a person enters a horse for a tag, that horse can have a new owner after the race. Cruel, maybe. Business, definitely.

Rodeo Du Ruisseau now has a new home, and the new owners are overjoyed. Though they spent more than Charlton did to own the animal, Rodeo will probably earn in excess of $50,000 this year, if those feet stay sound.

The Ben, Bill and Will Stable, Rodeo's new owners, not only remain satisfied with their claim, but if history can be a guide, probably next year when Bernie Charlton claims a horse in Toronto, he will not bring him stateside and enter him in the local claiming ranks.

If he does, he might not have the horse at year's end, and the new owners will be ever watchful for more horses that Charlton might enter in claiming races in the future.

BITS, BOOTS & BRIDLES: The Maine Sires Stakes have rolled out the freshman of both gaits and, as always, some monsters-in-waiting seem to have appeared, while others win almost randomly . . . the two divisions of the freshman trotting fillies show exactly what happens in this stakes series; in one division, Current Chip, trained by the veteran Don Richards and driven by Mark Athern, won for the fourth time in as many tries, while in the other division, Glory Hallelujah shaved six seconds off her lifetime best to win for the first time in stakes company . . . On the male side, Edgar displayed his unbeatability, front-running to his third straight, while Roadshow Vic won the other division . . . Scarborough Downs showcased all these events and, despite an off-track, made the surface worthy of these animals . . . the two year-old pacers saw Pembroke Joe Dunn master his field, while Gary Mosher's Katahdin Boy won for the fourth time in five tries . . . eight different fillies have won at least one event in this series . . . Heath Campbell leads the driving colony in the stakes races with 19 wins, while Falmouth's Mike Graffam holds second with 14 scores . . . 19 individual drivers have won at least one stakes event; 20 separate trainers hold the same distinction . . . Boy Band leads the trotting sire ranks; Neutralize leads his pacing counterparts . . .