Gratz, PA – The Stay Hungry sophomore gelding Fasting paced the fastest mile in the history of the Gratz Fair oval, 1:54.4, while winning his division’s “A” Sire Stake on Monday (Sept. 15), the second day of the “fair meet” at the northcentral Pennsylvania oval, which had hosted a “2-day” event the previous weekend.
Driver Eric Neal took full advantage of the rail starting position over the half-mile track and never surrendered the lead, posting fractions of :27.4, :56.1, and 1:25 before knocking two-fifths of a second off of Lahaye’s 2013 all-time Gratz standard. The mile by Fasting, who is trained by Mitchell York and co-owned by him and Erin York, also was the fastest clocking achieved on the twicearound circuit this year – the alltime record is 1:53.4, achieved by Midway Island at Bloomsburg in 2017.
The former holder of the honor of the fair season’s fastest mile, the Always B Miki filly Milagro at 1:55.2, was part of a sweep of the filly “A” section by the co-owners, driver Tony and trainer Linda Schadel. Milagro’s 1:59.2 win featured a :27.2 back quarter, and it gave the 2024 fair champion twelve wins on the circuit, eight of them in 2:00, both highs.
But she hasn’t clinched her division’s leading pointwinner status and the traditional blanket in the stable’s colors awarded for that achievement, because her barnmate, the Bettor’s Wish miss Tina’s Wish, won in 1:57.2 and still has a mathematical chance. You need a 105-point lead to clinch with three stops to go, as a win is worth 35 points.
The only horse, whether two or three, to have built up that margin is a barnmate of the pacing fillies, the Greenshoe sophomore gelding Lionheart Hanover, who opened the Monday card with a 2:00 win, fastest trot time at Gratz, and his eleven fair victories and other finishes assure there will be a blue blanket with black trim for him and Tony and Linda at the annual fair banquet.
In the 3-year-old trotting filly ranks there is a ten-time winner in the International Moni miss Tally The Tab, successful in 2:00.2, who was part of a sweep of that sector by Tony’s brother Todd, trainer-driver and co-owner of both misses with Linda Schadel. Todd also won with the Cantab Hall filly Shalamar Hanover, joint fair season’s leader for her group, in 2:02.2.
One pacing filly got to seven “A”-level fair victories, the most by any freshman this year, when the 2-year-olds were featured on Sunday (Sept. 14), and in the very next race another filly had to stay at six wins despite a very big outing.
The queen of the baby winners is the Always B Miki – Zane Hanover filly Beachy’s Mistress, who had a fairly easy time of it 2:03.4 for trainer/driver Steve Schoeffel and owner Ryan Smith in being the first to get to a seven-bagger in “A” victories.
12 minutes later, Vegas Queen sought to join her at seven, but she was forced to duel while on the rim in fast fractions, and she came up less than a length short to Dancin Camille, a Stay Hungry – Keepofftheflowers filly in a 2:01.1 mile. Dancin Camille, driven by Chris Shaw for trainer Brian Indof and owner Frank Indof, now has “A” wins in a row, including a 2:00.1 season’s record last week.
In the only “A” freshman division for pacing colts, Gratz fair board member and trainer/driver David Wiest made it two in a row over the “home” oval with More Than Guapo, winning in 1:58.2 for the fastest freshman distinction this meet. The Bettor’s Wish – Better Than Kate gelding is owned by Bimmie Strausser.
The star of last week’s 2-year-old action at Gratz again put in a big mile this week: the Bar Hopping – Snowflake Hanover filly Snow Queen Hanover, who tied the all-time PA fair circuit record for baby trotting fillies with a 2:00.1 mile a week ago Saturday, won in “only” 2:01 this week for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, co-owner with Jim Simpson.
Developing into quite the nice filly of her own is the Father Patrick – Tymal Lux distaff Pa Patricia, who won this group’s other “A” division in 2:01.2 for driver Chris Shaw, trainer Ashley Brown, and owners Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw. The filly did not start at the fairs until Wattsburg, but she is making up for lost time with six fair triumphs, including four in a row.
Joining Pa Patricia at six freshman “A” trot triumphs was the International Moni – By A Nose Hanover gelding Nose Jammer, now a winner of five straight after a 2:02.4 victory for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, also co-owner with wife Christine. Nose Jammer is also his division’s season’s leader; the horse from whom he took that distinction, Green Shades, won the other “A” section for trainer/driver Sam Beegle.
As he has done on more than one occasion in the past, Todd Schadel won the horsemen’s crowns at Gratz, with his six sulky successes followed by Tony Schadel at four and Chris Shaw at three, and his five training triumphs topped Linda Schadel’s three (three other trainers had a pair of winners).
There are only three stops left on the Pennsylvania fair circuit in 2025: the last in the east, at Bloomsburg, takes place this Friday (Sept. 19) and Saturday (Sept. 20) starting at 11. Two-day events at Meadville (Sept. 27-28) and Dayton (Oct. 4-5) will give the horses their last chances to earn their way into their $25,000 Fair Championships, to be held Monday, October 13 at Pocono.
It has been announced that all of the remaining meetings on the PA Fair Circuit this year, the three listed above, will be livestreamed. For more information, please visit https://www.pafairsracing.org.