Ridgeville Corners, OH – It was another fine Ohio Fair Racing Conference awards dinner held Saturday (Nov. 23) at the American Legion Post No. 454 and a large turnout was on hand to enjoy the festivities. With the 21-member Fairs well represented, host Bill Peters beckoned to the crowd to partake the meal and then to offer their accolades to the Best of 2019.

Host Bill Peters, pictured here with his wife Trudy and his two cousins Phyliss and Pat, was the recipient of an award commemorating his 60 years of announcing along with a sincere “Thank you” for his service.  OHHA Photo.

The first to accept plaudits was Fix It Up Farm’s 2019 Signature Series pacing champ Mystical Rock as the 6-year-old Mervin Schmucker trainee was 11 times first or second in 18 seasonal starts.

The 2-year-old colt pacer was the fan favorite Cousin Louie (by Big Bad John) as the Mike Conklin-conditioned gelding grabbed nine wins in his 15 starts in 2019 and garnered $30,969 for his four cousins and their supporters.

Tommy and Andrea Householder’s 2-year-old filly pacer Tiny Bit of Sky (Major Stone-Skyway Hanover) took a tab of 1:55.4 at Northfield this past October and was 15 times 1-2-3 in 20 starts this year and was the winner of $26,995, tops in her class.

Ted Boschma’s 2-year-old Stormin Norman trotting gelding Timestorm grabbed a standard of 1:56.4 at Northfield along with 11 other victories in 14 starts and earned $47,515 as the Kent Hess-pupil dominated his fellow juveniles all year.

Winwin Sis (Wishing Stone-Grabill Amy) took home the plaque for EG Trot LLC and trainer/driver Ed Greeno Jr as she secured nine times on the board in 16 starts while being timed in 2:01.2 at Delaware County Fair.

The 3-year-old colt pacer honors went to Gerald Mijal’s Tanner J and the Steve Novak-conditioned Believeinbruiser gelding pushed his lifetime winnings to over $82,000.

Ambitious Lillian (by Big Bad John) is inching towards the $100,000 mark in her two-year earnings for owner Mike Farquhar as the Bruce Farquhar-trained 3-year-old award winning pacing filly is now 15 for 30 lifetime with a tab of 1:54.3 at Delaware.

When it came to naming the best 3-year-old trotter, owner/trainer/driver Bob Rowland’s I Get It got it as the fleet-footed gelding by Don’tyouforgetit scored 12 times in his 15 starts this year and earned a mark of 1:55.2 at Northfield.

The filly counterpart went to Pat Sweeney and Neal Oksenberg’s Full Count lass Urban Buzz as the winner at Northfield in 1:57.3 was 14 times 1-2-3 in her 20 starts on the year for trainer Mike Sweeney.

The 2019 OFRC Driver and Trainer Awards went to Cam McCown and Michael Medors, respectively.

After the equine awards were presented, the tables were turned on the long-time dedicated and hard-working host Bill Peters as he received an award for his 60 years of announcing as well as his untiring devotion to so many facets on the OFRC circuit. Without Bill Peters, the wheels would not turn so smoothly and a warm heart-felt round of applause was given.

The 50/50 raffle was held and tickets were drawn and everyone walked away with prizes, some of which were two sets of brand-new harnesses.

As always, as they have for years, the staff at the Legion provided a great meal and excellent accommodations.