$200,000 on the line in PA Fair Championships

HARRISBURG PA — $200,000 will be on the line at Hollywood Gaming at The Meadows on Friday night, October 11, as the Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes Championships will be contested on a harness racing card starting at 5:10 p.m. Each of eight divisions of stakes horses, earning their way into the Championships based on high finishes turned in through the summer on the fair circuit, will race for a purse of $25,000.

With the draw for these races this coming Tuesday (October 8), it seemed a good time to highlight some of the star performances turned in by the young trotters and pacers this summer, as they may be indicative of the horses to watch out for on Friday the 11th.

(Points were distributed on a 35-25-15-10-8-5-4-2 basis via order of finish [“A” division races only]. A race that was rained out brought a horse nine points; the two-year-olds got all nineteen of their scheduled races in, whereas the three-year-old “A” stakes performers were rained out twice.)

MOST POINTS EARNED AT FAIRS

Overall – 2TC Lionheart Hanover and 2TF Classy Cocktail, 430 points. (Both baby trotters, both from the Tony Schadel barn, recorded identical 14-10-2-2 records.)

Trotters – Lionheart Hanover and Classy Cocktail.

Pacers – 2PC Wheelhouse Hanover, 380 points.

3YOs – PF Showboat Hanover, 363 points.

Divisional tie – 2PFs Its Written and Sweet Rock Hanover finished with 330 points.

TRACK RECORDS

All-age track records – 5: 3TF Loveyoubunches, the only racer with two (Butler and Honesdale); 3PC Ante Up Hanover (Clearfield); 3PC Dry Ridge Erie (Butler); 3TC International Moni (Butler).

Divisional track records – 24. Trotting fillies accounted for an incredible 15 of the 24 divisional marks: seven in the sophomore ranks with Loveyoubunches setting five herself (most of any fair horse), and eight among the freshmen, with Classy Cocktail and H Moni Winner with two among the six fillies setting a mark.

All-time PA Fairs standard for division: 3TF Loveyoubunches, 1:58.1 at Bedford.

2:00 MILES

Overall 2:00 miles: 39. Five were by trotters. Ten were by two-year-olds. As could be expected, 22 came for three-year-old pacers: 12 by males and 10 by females.

5 or more 2:00 miles: 3PC Ante Up Hanover 6; 3PF Showboat Hanover 5.

FAIR VICTORIES (“A” division, “+1”)

10-time winners: 2TC Lionheart Hanover, 2TF Classy Cocktail.

9-time winners: 2PC Wheelhouse Hanover, 3TF Loveyoubunches. (And a tip of the cap to 3PC RT Whistlin Willie, who won nine times in the “B” ranks, and still qualified for his Championship.)

8-time winners: 3PC Ante Up Hanover, 2PF Don’t Touch My T, 2PF Its Written, 2TC Mr Hopper.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS QUALIFYING FOR FINALS

PC Ante Up Hanover, TF Little Town Road, PF Showboat Hanover.

Ante Up Hanover was leading pointwinner in his group at two, but not at three; the two fillies led in points this year, but not last. So, PF Bettor Strait N Up will remain the only fair horse to lead in points and win a Championship at both two and three.

From the PFHHA, MSOA and the PHHA partnership