Publicity Office, Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association

York, PA — For the second straight week, Mother Nature was not kind to the 3-year-olds racing on the Pennsylvania fair circuit. On Labor Day, the entire program of sophomore action at Stoneboro was washed out; on Wednesday (Sept. 13) in York only the colt pacers raced.

But the two winners did a terrific job.

Seth Dowling photo

Midway Island sets a new track record of 1:56.3 at the York Fair on Wednesday afternoon.

Just as the skies were opening around race one, the Somebeachsomewhere gelding Midway Island rocketed out of the gate for the circuit’s leading driver, Chris Shaw, and never looked back, hitting the wire in 1:56.3. The win gave the Ron Burke-trained recent arrival on the twice-around circuit his third divisional track record in as many fair starts and on this occasion he knocked a tick off the 2009 mark set by Lahaye.

Midway Island is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc., and David Wills. He brought Burke’s conditioning record at the 2017 Keystone fairs to 7-7-0-0.

Conditions were deteriorating rapidly when the second division went gate-ward, as the frequently-winning Yankee Cruiser gelding Ginger Tree Marty did not get away cleanly and was 12-1/2 lengths behind at the quarter mile marker. Trainer/driver Sam Beegle, however, methodically got his horse into improved positioning, and Ginger Tree Marty then paced home in :29 to win comfortably in 2:03.3.

Ginger Tree Marty, the fastest horse at the PA fairs this year with a 1:55.2 mile at Gratz, has now won six straight races and eight of nine on the fair circuit. He is owned by Ginger Tree Stable LLC and Bob Reber.

Ginger Tree Marty has five 2:00 miles at the state twicearounds this year, a figure which now puts him tied for the lead in that category with the 2-year-old Venier Hanover, who won the first race of the abbreviated meet in 1:58.2 on Tuesday. That clocking was also his sixth track record performance at the fairs, reducing Half Moon Bay’s York standard by a fifth. The Well Said-Valmctorian gelding has taken eight straight fair contests, has an overall fair mark of 10-9-1-0, and has 11 wins in all competition this year, which is second in North America.

Trainer/driver Dave Brickell co-owns Venier, who nine days earlier had paced in 1:51.2 while fifth, beaten less than three lengths in his $252,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship.

Also notable during Tuesday’s 2-year-old action was Todd Schadel sulkysweeping the A colt trot events. First up was the Muscle Massive gelding Bela’s Bad Boy, who held off a big charge by Pa. Stallion Series champion Hockey Hanover to win in 2:06.4 for trainer Schadel, who co-owns with Christine Schadel.

Schadel then took a successful catch-drive with trainer Bill Zendt’s Explosive Matter-Love To Flaunt gelding Exuberance, who broke his maiden in fine style with a 2:04.4 victory for the Bay Pond Racing Stable.

The rainout on Wednesday did cost two 3-year-old fillies the chance to extend long winning streaks. Trotter All Set Lets Go would have been racing for her 11th straight triumph at the fairs, while pacer Bella Ragaza was seeking 10 consecutive wins. Both may well be back in the box when the fair circuit heads back to Gratz for its next-to-last stop of the 2017 season.

There is racing on Sunday and Monday at 1 p.m.