Fair Judges Seminar set for Saturday, June 1

Mike Woebkenberg, the Ohio-based harness racing starter who is best known for his penchant for introducing folks to the sport by giving them a ride in his gate, has once again put together a Fair Judges Seminar, to help prospective and returning county fair judges.

It is the only kind of meeting thus held for judges at the county fair level in North America and this is the fourth year Mike has organized the program. The seminar will be held on Saturday, June 1, beginning at 9:30 am at the Washington Court House Fairgrounds, located at 213 Fairview Ave., Washington Court House, Ohio.

“We have the best county fair races that go for the highest purses, and we need the best judges,” Mike offered. “Thus far we have 42 attendees—from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Judges in other states don’t have an opportunity to attend anything similar since Ohio is the only one with this program.”

“I do a continuing education program every fall for the USTA,” Mike continued. “And a lot of guys had approached me about putting on a seminar for county fair judges, and so that’s what I decided to do. A lot of trainers got their licenses 40 years ago, and likely haven’t picked up a rule book since then. The rules change constantly, they’re like a river, they’re flowing all the time. My pari-mutuel judges have to do 16 hours every two years and there’s nothing set up for the county fair judges—and if you can judge at an Ohio fair, you can judge anywhere.”

Meeting speakers include longtime Ohio judge Doug Thomas and the USTA’s T.C. Lane.

“There’s so many unique things to fair racing and fair judging—at the pari-mutuels you don’t have semis parked in the infield for instance,” Mike stressed. “It’s a completely different environment and people who don’t go to fairs don’t realize those differences, such as we don’t have a paddock judge to get horses to the racetrack.

“I love fair racing and that it is important as the backbone of harness racing,” Mike stressed. “Fairs have an economic and political impact. I can talk to my state reps there and tell them how much I love racing and want to see it continue. My state rep is the chair of Ohio Agricultural department, and he might not vote the way I want him to, but I know he’ll ask me about anything related to harness racing and the county fairs.”

Mike said many states, unlike Ohio, do not have pari-mutuel wagering, which changes the dynamics in the judge’s stands across the Midwest.

“Some of the Ohio fairs do not have pari-mutuel wagering—so you might judge at Urbana where they have pair-mutuel wagering and the next day you go to Marysville, where there is no wagering. So, my county fair judges have to be more in tune with what’s going on in the rules department,” Mike added. “Ohio put in a vest law that is mandatory at the fairs, and we have guys that think they don’t have to wear one, and guys who want to warm their horses up in shorts and a t-shirt. We’re putting on a show and horsemen have to realize that, and it’s important that the county fair judges call out guys who aren’t adhering to the rules—even when warming up.”

“We have a great business, and I’m trying to make it better by making my judges better. And that makes the fair board happy too,” Mike added. ““One of my goals in this meeting is to have everyone participate and talk about issues which happen at the county fair level.”

Folks who would like to attend Saturday’s seminar can contact Mike at 937-313-2221.

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink