by Emily Gaskin, for Hoosier Park

Anderson, IN — Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, in partnership with the Harness Horse Youth Foundation and Anderson School Corporation, will host a series of field trips for fourth grade students in Madison County on Wednesday (Sept. 20) and Thursday (Sept. 21) as part of Indiana’s Bicentennial Celebration.

The field trips will offer a hands-on introduction to harness racing and the history of harness racing in the state of Indiana. The event will give more than 600 young children the opportunity to see live harness racing and learn the importance of the Standardbred industry in Indiana’s economy.

The Harness Horse Youth Foundation and volunteers will provide interactive history lessons of harness racing in the Hoosier state along with demonstrations of the various aspects involved in harness racing. The students will have an opportunity to sit in a race bike and learn about the equipment a harness horse wears when racing, all through live demonstrations.

Students will also get a behind the scenes look at harness racing through backside tours provided by Hoosier Park trainers. Some of Hoosier Park’s leading drivers will also be on hand to answer questions and sign autographs for the students. Hoosier Park will provide each student with a free t-shirt, a lucky horseshoe, and souvenir cards featuring facts and pictures of some of Indiana’s most famous racehorses, which can be used in the classroom following the field trips.

In conjunction with the field trips, Hoosier Park also partnered with the Anderson School Corporation to launch the Play It Forward campaign. Guests of Hoosier Park Racing & Casino are invited to donate $10 to the campaign to receive $10 in casino cash. The goal is to raise $60,000 to provide Google Chrome Labs for the community schools.

On Friday (Sept. 23), Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will host Community Night at the Races in honor of all of the Anderson & Madison County students. The evening celebration will include free games, activities, contests, face painting, live entertainment, carnival fare and giveaways.

Additionally, the first 500 racing fans to visit Trackside Club Centaur on Friday will receive a mystery voucher worth up to $500. Racing fans are invited to enjoy $1 hot dogs, cotton candy and other dining specials. A free fireworks show will culminate the entire evening at the conclusion of live racing.

In combination with the community festivities, Hoosier Park will host a weekend of Grand Circuit racing action for the second time this season. On Friday, Hoosier Park will host the $200,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stakes for 2-year-old trotting fillies while the $210,000 Centaur Trotting Classic and $175,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby will highlight the racing action on Saturday. First post is 5:45 p.m.

For more information on the upcoming entertainment and live racing schedule, please visit www.hoosierpark.com.