Publicity Office, PA Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association

Stoneboro, PA – The Pennsylvania Fair Circuit was in a total “split” situation this past Tuesday and Wednesday, with the racing for 2-year-olds conducted at both the Erie County Fair in Wattsburg and the Indiana County Fair on Tuesday, and the 3-year-olds going the following days at both places.

Speed was achieved at both venues: the two track records for trotting fillies were rewritten at Wattsburg, while at Indiana the only 2:00 mile of the fair season outside of Bedford went into the books. And one young horseman accomplished an amazing feat linking both tracks both days.

On Tuesday morning the 2-year-old trotting filly Missive reset the Wattsburg track record for age/sex/gait to 2:08 in winning her division of the Fair Sire Stakes (and going faster than the boys did). Steve Schoeffel, Wattsburg’s leading driver with six wins in the two days, trains and drove the daughter of Muscle Massive for Lander Stables LLC and Kathy Schoeffel.

Within an hour of that performance, North America’s winningest 2-year-olds, the pacing filly Tropical Terror (now at 12) and gelding Nippy (10), both added to their victory total, and both did it in the same unusual way – they were both placed first in their events. Both the Western Terror filly Tropical Terror (who has now won in a dead-heat and by disqualification, and lost by a half-length in her only other start) and the Nuclear Breeze gelding Nippy are campaigned by Team Shaw – trainer Jason Shaw (Wattsburg meet leader with 4 wins over the two days), driver Chris Shaw, and owner Mason Shaw, Jason’s 2-year-old son.

On Wednesday Wattsburg altered another line in its record tables when the sophomore Straight Up Lindy filly Static Electricity made the stopwatch click at 2:05.2. The firm of Shaw, Shaw, and Shaw also profited from this trotter’s victory.

Tuesday’s Indiana action saw Todd Schadel drive four winners, but he had to settle for second behind perhaps the most impressive winner of the day, the baby trotting filly by SJ’s Caviar named HS Pearl, who won in 2:07.1 (also faster than either winning time posted by her colt counterparts, like Missive at Wattsburg), and with a last quarter of 29.4. Wayne Long trains and drives the impressive miss, and he shares ownership with Joyce Lineweaver.

On Wednesday at Indiana, the Yankee Cruiser gelding Fangled Hanover teamed with owner/trainer/driver Roger Hammer to win a division of the 3-year-old pacing colt event in 2:00, the only magic mile of the year on the Pennsylvania half-milers other than at the speed show at Bedford, which produced six such times. There have only been a handful of clockings in 2:00 or better at Indiana (the all-time fastest is 1:58.3 by Straight Character), and Fangled Hanover now joins that select group for Hammer, who was the meet’s leading trainer with four and co-leading driver with four along with his Vivid Photo partner Schadel – and an up-and-coming horseman who deserves his own paragraph.

20-year-old Cory Kreiser has only 48 driving victories in his young career, and he had never trained a winner before this season. But Kreiser posted four sulky victories at Indiana to tie the veterans Hammer and Schadel – and even more impressively he trained a winner – each day – at each of the two tracks! Winning at Wattsburg Tuesday was Uber Doober Do (Schoeffel) and Julio Lauxmont (Brady Brown) Wednesday in Quaker State events; at his “base” at Indiana, Kreiser was the victorious trainer/driver in a Sire Stake with Allstar Ballet on Tuesday and a Quaker State with Acelia on Wednesday to complete the unique trainer quartet. Cory also had Indiana catch-driving Sire Stakes triumphs with Koi Lauxmont for trainer Ted Williams on Tuesday and Medoland Onyx for conditioner Pat Medors on Wednesday, thus achieving his sulky foursome.

The circuit moves on to its final “Western stop” this Friday and Sunday at the Great Stoneboro Fair; freshman will start their races at 10 a.m. Friday, with sophomores set to go Sunday at high noon. The circuit then heads east for its final tour, at Port Royal, York, Gratz, and Bloomsburg, then goes back west to The Meadows on Saturday evening, October 5 for the $200,000 Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes Championship Night.