Charlie May headlines Gene Riegle Memorial

Charlie May (McArdle) will face four older harness racing pacers in the $35,000 Gene Riegle Memorial Thursday evening (August 24) at the Darke County Fair in Greenville, Ohio.

The 5-year-old gelding is owned by Don Tiger and conditioned by Steve Carter. His 1:47.1 victory in this year’s William R. Haughton Memorial established a new lifetime mark. Charlie May has 26 career wins in 57 starts and has lifetime earnings of $1,971,685.

The two-time Gene Riegle Memorial champ, Sectionline Bigry (Pet Rock) should provide Charlle May his toughest challenge.

The eight-year-old homebred owns a mark of 1:48 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park and has $975,707 in earnings. He is conditioned by Steve Bauder for owner Harold Lee Bauder.

Sectionline Bigry won the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Riegle Memorial.

This year’s field has combined earnings of $3.6 million and an average lifetime mark of 1:49.1.

The complete field and announced drivers for the $35,000 Gene Riegle Memorial, in post-position order: 1. He’s A Dickens (Dan Noble); 2. Sectionline Bigry (Jeff Nisonger); 3. Charlie May (Brett Miller); 4. Dancin Sancho (Sam Widger); 5. Odds On Shaggy (Austin Hanners).

The Gene Riegle Memorial honors one of the greatest trainers in the history of the sport and native of Greenville, Ohio. Mr. Riegle was enshrined into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1992.

On the Riegle Memorial undercard is the $20,000 Arnie Almahurst Trot and the Hugh Parshall Memorial events. First post is 5:30 p.m.

The first 1,000 fans will receive a commemorative Riegle Memorial pint glass with a purchase of a past performance program.

by Jay Wolf, for the Darke County Fair