Indiana Standardbreds featured at 2019 Indiana State Fair

Indianapolis, IN — There will be no shortage of Hoosier Horsepower at the 2019 Indiana State Fair when it opens on Friday (Aug. 2) in Indianapolis. For the second year, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission and the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development Program will be a big part of the summer spectacular with live races and a live exhibit.

The historic, and newly renovated, Indiana State Fair speed barns will be on display as the IHRC hosts tours throughout the 17 day fair. Indiana-sired (retired) harness racehorses will be on hand for fairgoers to meet and learn about not only life on the racetrack but also after the track. Educational posters adorn the barn to introduce harness racing to attendees, as well as educate how horse racing is good for Indiana. The kids (and kids at heart) are invited to be in the driver’s seat, with an almost life-size photo booth featuring two-time Breeders Crown champion and 2017 Horse of the Year Hannelore Hanover as the star attraction.

New for this year, fairgoers will be able to watch some of the 2019 Indiana Sired Fair Circuit races, as well as promotional videos produced by the IHRC and Emmis Communications, inside the barn. Indiana horseman Nat Hill donated his Charles S. Caffrey High Wheeled “Spider” Sulky, manufactured between 1858 and 1890 by the Charles S. Caffrey Company in Camden, N.J. The antique sulky features a wooden frame, large wooden wheels and greased axles, and was used until 1900 on the racetrack.

Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and invite fairgoers to attend races in Indiana not only at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson for harness racing, but also Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville for Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing.

“We had such positive feedback from fairgoers last year when we opened up the speed barns for the first time in many years, so we’re excited to offer this exhibit again,” says Megan Arszman, Communications Coordinator for the IHRC. “For some, it was their first time ever seeing a horse in person, let alone being able to pet one or see them racing on the track. We shared many special moments with our fellow Hoosiers last year.”

During the Indiana State Fair, racing will return to the dirt one-mile track one last time before renovation begins. The Indiana Sired Fair Circuit crowns its 2019 State Fair Champions on Tuesday (Aug. 6). The top eight horses will compete in the championship races starting at 6 p.m., while the consolation races will be held earlier in the day, with first post at 11 a.m. The Grand Circuit is set to kick off its Indiana tour on Wednesday (Aug. 7), featuring the Fox Stake and Ralph Wilfong Memorial, among other races, for 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers.

The IHRC will host Pick-A-Winner contests throughout the two race days at the Indiana State Fair Hoosier Lottery Grandstand, thanks to generous donations from the Indiana Standardbred Association and Harrah’s Hoosier Park. Local radio station 1070 The Fan will broadcast live with former Indianapolis Colts player “Big Joe” Staysniak during the races on Aug. 6 as part of their partnership with the ESPN radio station.

“The support from Emmis Communications, Big Joe and 1070 The Fan has been great,” comments Joyse Banister, Standardbred Breed Development Coordinator for the IHRC. “We’ve brought harness racing to so many people who didn’t know we raced at their local county fairs in the past two years.”

The Indiana-Sired Fair Circuit is a series of hosted races at Indiana’s county and State Fairs that showcases Indiana sired and bred Standardbred horses. In order to be eligible to compete in these races, horses must be foaled in Indiana and sired by a stallion that stands in the state of Indiana. Races are held for 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters, for horses that are nominated by their owners each year they race.

For more information on the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit or the Indiana State Fair, reach out to the IHRC at 317.233.3119 or by emailing Standardbred@hrc.in.gov.

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