Home of the Overcoat Meet !
Lewiston LogoLewiston Raceway, was a half mile track located in Lewiston, a town located halfway between Portland and Augusta. It had a winterized, glass enclosed grandstand, which seated 5,000. There was usually a split meet, one starting in February and one in October. There is parking for 2,000 cars.
Free Season Pass!Lewiston, featured minimal purses and seemed geared for Maine Horsemen. In 1987 the track got a boost when Foxboro Raceway suddenly closed, leaving Eastern New Englanders scrambling for harness racing. Lewiston, did have a yearly memorial race that at the end was worth $30,000. The track also held a North American Driving Championship Day that attracted top drivers to the raceway. Lewiston, was also where Walter Case Jr., drove as a provisional.
Does anybody remember, Saco Me and Saco Me Too, two of my favorite horse names. They campaigned here before moving on to Foxboro.
Lewiston, Maine the town that hosted the 1965 Boxing title fight between upstart Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston was also home to a half mile harness track.
Lewiston ceased to exist in the late 80's after losing a bitter battle over racing dates with Scarborough Downs. In the early 90's Lewiston raceway was granted an OTB license. That establishment occupies a small space at the original Raceway sight. Lewiston always got the less desirable racing dates in Maine, running in late winter and late fall. The late fall meet was named the "Overcoat Meet".
The Overcoat MeetIn 2012 there is no indication that a race track ever existed on the Lewiston site. I did make it to Lewiston, for a weekend of racing back in the late seventies. I remember that weekend well, it started with driving four hours in a snow storm, not knowing if they would even race? Well snow is not a problem in Maine so the races were on. Finally thinking I was going to see the track whose abbreviation was in so many Foxboro entries, my wife's jaw locks up on the way to the track. My wife is frantically trying to unlock her jaw when I see a sign for a hospital, what do I do, if I take her to the emergency room we miss the track, if I don't, I never hear the end of it. I'm getting ready to pull into the hospital, when her jaw pops back in, Thank You. A few miles later we pull into the track, it wasn't The Meadowlands, but it was racing. It was also the first time I saw the eight horse starting from the second tier.