by Jeff Zidek, information specialist, Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission

Indiana, PA — A total of 23 stakes — all for freshmen — were held at two venues in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, August 31, with sunny skies and high temperatures facing horsemen at both tracks.

In Indiana, at the Indiana County Fair, Shanny opened the card with a 2:12 win in the lone division of the Quaker Trot. Timmy Offutt drove the SJ’s Caviar filly for trainer Terry Altmeyer.

Offutt then won the next two races as well, both divisions of the Quaker Pace. First time starter Jacob’s Pepper (Dragon Again) won in 2:13.3 off a leisurely 1:10.2 half, while DVC Havenly Cam was a 2:04.3 winner. DVC Havenly Cam, by Million Dollar Cam, has now won four of five career starts. Both horses were out of the Offutt Stable.

PA Sire Stake action filled the rest of the Indiana card, and Centre County won the first of three divisions of the colt trot with a 2:11.4 mile. Wilbur Yoder drove the John McMullen-trainee. Another Offutt entry, Unbeatable Hanover, scored in the second division for his first victory. Joe Offutt trains and drove the SJ’s Caviar colt to a 2:07.1 win. The final division was won by KT Tag I’m It (Tagliabue), who scored in 2:06 for trainer Ken Weaver and driver Eddie McNeight.

In the first of three filly trotting splits, Howardeena Hanover (Andover Hall) broke her maiden with a 2:06.2 win for trainer/driver Kim Good. In the second group, Witch’s Magic Brew reached double-digits in victories, winning for the tenth time in 11 starts for the Weaver/McNeight tandem. The winning time for the CR Royal Magic filly was 2:08.4. In the last group, Bill Fahy guided Filly Bay, out of his own stable, to a 2:07.2 win. Filly Bay, a daughter of Chip Chip Hooray, has now won three times in nine outings.

Jeff Zidek photo

Sapphire City was a 1:59.4 winner in Indiana.

Four divisions of the freshman colt pace were next, and Todd Schadel’s Sapphire City won the first in a fast 1:59.4 time, with a :28.1 last quarter. The Metropolitan colt was making his fair debut. In the second division, Vino’s Desire, driven by Wilbur Yoder, got up in the final stride to nip Keystone Royce and Schadel in 2:06.4. Rich Gillock trains Vino’s Desire, a son of Real Desire. The Neal Stable then took over the track, winning the final two colt pacing splits. First up was Fool To Cry (I Am A Fool), trained by Randy Neal and driven by his son, Eric. The winning time was 2:02. In the second split, Randy guided Constructor to a 2:05.1 victory in his first fair appearance.

Eric Neal came back to win the next race as well, the first filly pacing division, with Blissful Artist. Trained by Randy Neal, Blissful Artist (Blissfull Hall) lowered her lifetime mark to 2:01.3. The second division winner was McEver, a McArdle filly out of the Kristen Spahn stable. Brad Provost guided her to a 2:03.2 win, besting a tough DVC Hopnattitude, already a six-time winner on the circuit this summer. The Indiana card ended with a win by Dragon Dance and Schadel in 2:03.3. The Dragon Again filly was appearing at her first fair of the year.

In the Northeast corner of the state in Wattsburg, the Erie County Fair hosted seven races, featuring some of the highest purses on the circuit this season.

Erik Kaminski photo

Twilight Artist posted his eighth win of the season for Roger Hammer.

In the lone division of the PASS freshman colt pace, going for a purse of $11,855, Twilight Artist scored for Roger Hammer in 2:03, holding off Evening Shadows and driver Brady Brown. Twilight Artist (Real Artist) has now won eight of 10 this season, while Evening Shadows drops to 8-for-11 in what was a matchup of two of the top colts on the circuit.

The $11,658 freshman filly pace was up next, featuring two of Hammer’s top horses, My Gal Hannah and Caramel Chinno. The pair ended up finishing first and second, but Hammer had to settle for second with Caramel Chinno, as Al Manke guided My Gal Hannah to the win in 2:03.1.

A 2-year-old Quaker Pace was up next, and Chris Shaw drove Bermuda Rough to the win in 2:07. Jason Shaw trains the Allamerican Ingot gelding.

Two divisions of the PASS freshman colt trot were next, with victories earned by Cadence Hall (Chip Chip Hooray) and Otto (Tagliabue). Cadence Hall, trained and reined by Bill Daugherty, trotted the mile in 2:09.4, while Otto and Marty Wollam scored in 2:08.2.

Just two horses faced the starter in the Quaker Trot and Arizona Miss (SJ’s Caviar), with Hammer at the lines for trainer Boots Dunn, was a winner in a pedestrian 2:21.

The day’s final event was the $11,683 PASS filly trot and Mynah Hanover was a winner for trainer/driver Steve Schoeffel in 2:10.1. Mynah Hanover is a daughter of Cantab Hall.

On Wednesday, sophomores will be in stakes action at Wattsburg at 11 a.m., while Indiana will host overnight racing beginning at 12 Noon. For video highlights from the PA Fair Circuit, visit www.pafairharness.com.