This Saturday and Sunday, Scarborough Downs will host the Maine Sires Stakes Championships. Saturday, freshman trotters and pacers will go postward. On Sunday, their older counterparts, the sophomores, will contest this year's finals. Post time for the start of the races is 12:45 p.m.

This year the Sires Stakes will celebrate their 35th anniversary. Started in 1974, the Sires Stakes have weathered financial hardship and the depletion of the ranks. With the advent of slot revenue, the Sires Stakes, which started in 1974 and raced that year for a grand total of $68,000, will celebrate their 35th birthday with purses in excess of $2 million on the year.

In 1994, Scarborough adopted the detention barn for stakes races. The detention barn essentially holds horses in quarantine until the time to enter the paddock. The facility operates as a deterrent to trainers who feel the need to provide their horses with a little "help" in the form of illegal medications. With the detention barn in place, it assures that all entrants race under the same conditions.

Since all Maine races come on twice-arounds, no advantage is gained by moving from track to track. As a result form tends to hold true when evaluating the horses in the events.

With that said, let's look at the contestants in the various events.

In the freshman pacing ranks, Pembroke Joe Dunn and Kathadin Boy have each won five times, yet Pembroke Nick holds the fastest win record for the season, pacing in 1:59 flat at Windsor. A contentious start to the day probably determined by post position draw.

On the distaff side of the pacing equation, none separate winners have all won a heat this year. Perhaps the most contentious division of the entire program, even though Pembroke Playmate and Aprils Golden Hour have acquitted themselves in a better fashion than their counterparts by winning more than once.

The trotting ranks on the male side present both an opportunity and a problem. Though Willin Dylan has distanced himself from the competition, he has a fiery disposition. Sequestered in the detention barn away from the comfort of his own stall might prove his undoing. If so, selecting a winner becomes even more difficult.

The female trotters feature perhaps the surest winner on the day, as Current Chip remains undefeated on the season. This young lady minds her manners, and if she continues to do that, should find herself in the winners enclosure on Saturday.

On Sunday, the three year-olds take center stage.

The sophomore male pacers feature perhaps the best race on the week-end with the undefeated Neutral Court going against his stablemate, Sign the Paige. Mike Graffam trains them both and says, "it will come down to the post position draw. If Neutral Court draw the far outside, and Sign the Paige draws the rail, it's going to be a long afternoon for Neutral Court." Shawn Gray will pilot Sign the Paige.

Though the female pacers have two prominent contenders in Pembroke Whitney and No Peeking, a third has emerged recently that could upset that match-up -- The Salem Witch. Since it is almost Halloween, maybe the cauldron will be stirred.

&The three year-old cross-steppers, both male and female should prove quality races. On the male side, Bad Boy Billy, Current Closer and Current Ca Ching, each have a legitimate shot. Even though he has not received the notoriety of his two rivals, Current Ca Ching has demonstrated his ability and moves with effortless grace.

The final division will pit the early and mid-season leader against the late-developing contender. A Capella Bella looked like the division's sure winner until just recently when Thebandfromboston reeled off two wins in a row, including a track record-setting performance at Cumberland. This one could be worthwhile.

That summarizes, albeit briefly, what to anticipate this week-end at Scarborough. Go out to the live races  and enjoy the best Maine has to offer.

BITS, BOOTS, & BRIDLES: A newsflash, an insight, but not a speculation: next year there will be fewer racing dates in the state, maybe as many as 20 percent fewer . . . with the fair season ending last week at Fryeburg, the two major tracks -- Bangor and Scarborough -- will shoulder the burden for the remainder of the racing season . . . if the leaders in the Sires Stakes standings win the finals, it is conceivable that a horse could make six figures in income racing solely in the State of Maine . . . . the supreme irony that attaches to the Maine Sires Stakes comes when a horse goes undefeated then heads for a sale after the season ends; something is wrong with that picture . . . Jason Bartlett might grace Scarborough Downs this week-end to drive in the Sires Stakes; Bartlett leads the nation in wins this year . . . maybe the sires stakes should consider extending the stakes to include four year-olds; just wondering . . . .