Prospect, PA — The 2024 Pennsylvania fair racing season started with a bang at the Big Butler Fair as all-age records for both the trot and the pace were broken in consecutive races, and then the newly-minted trot mark was tied just over an hour later.

All of the record-setting action took place on Wednesday, the day reserved for Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes for 3-year-olds, with 2-year-olds having seen their initial fair action the day before.

The first horse to turn in a track record performance was Internationalcraze, an International Moni gelding who toured the fairgrounds half-miler in 2:00, beating the former all-age mark of 2:01.1 set in 2021 by Killer Instinct Who Made Who. Already a 1:54.2 winner at Pocono this year, Internationalcraze is trained and driven by Todd Schadel, who shares ownership with his wife, Christine, and Rick and Regina Beinhauer.

Officially 64 minutes after Internationalcraze’s win, Loveyoubunches duplicated the 2:00 mark. A daughter of Fordham Road, who had toured Pocono 1:55.2 earlier this year, Loveyoubunches races for the same connections as Internationalcraze.

In the race immediately after Internationalcraze’s win, the If I Can Dream pacing gelding Dry Ridge Erie, having hit the board in eight of his last nine starts without winning, made a breakthrough in the biggest way, winning in 1:59 and reducing the all-age pacing mark, set by the filly Four Wide N’ Flyin last year, by a tick, while shaving two-fifths off the record for males also set last year, by Louie Hanover. Shawn Johnston guided Butler’s fastest-ever horse for trainer Gary Johnston and owner Randy Ringer.

A fourth 2:00 mile – giving one in each category of sophomores – was turned in by the Betting Line Showboat Hanover, winning in exactly 2:00 for trainer-driver Schadel, who also shares ownership with Christine Schadel and Caitlin Solt.

And after yielding good weather for all those records, the skies opened up, raining out the last two Wednesday races.

During Tuesday’s action for 2-year-olds, the very first race of the 2024 season yielded Butler’s fastest freshman clocking, from the Papi Rob Hanover-Well What’s New gelding Wheelhouse Hanover, who won in 2:03 for Todd Schadel.

Freshman trotting honors were landed by the Father Patrick-Munster gelding Munster Mash Trick, driven to a 2:05 win by Brady Brown for trainer Steve Schoeffel and the partnership of Kathy Schoeffel, Stephen Lander, Fred Dowling and Maximus Melik.

Todd Schadel took the early lead among fair drivers and trainers landing seven in each category; also off to good fair starts with three wins each were driver Aaron Johnston and trainer Steve Schoeffel.

Chris Shaw, who was involved in a horrible racing accident in 2021 and did not drive in 2022 or 2023 while recuperating, brought home two winners at Butler – the first at Pennsylvania fairs for the former 100-wins-in-a-fair season driver since August 21, 2020, at Meyersdale.

The fair action now shifts to Stoneboro for a two-day meet on Saturday and Sunday (June 29-30), with a first post of 3 p.m. each day.