by Tammy Knox, publicity director, Hoosier Park

Anderson, IN — Art Official, 2008 winner of the $500,000 Hoosier Cup at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, won a qualifier in 1:56.4 (last quarter :26.3) at the Anderson, Ind. track on Friday, June 5. The 4-year-old Art Major stallion was driven by Travis Seekman.

Art Official won 13 of 20 starts last year and took a mark of 1:47 at The Meadowlands. He earned more than $1.5 million for trainer Joe Seekman and Jim and Joyce Jesk’s Sawgrass Farms of Lockport, Ill.

Art Official is headed to Hoosier Park’s $200,000 Dan Patch Invitational, set for Saturday, June 20.

Fab Five drivers use Charity Chariots to raise money

Hoosier Park Racing and Casino’s Fab Five drivers will be featured in a special promotion each Saturday in June. Charity Chariots will offer racing fans the unique opportunity to experience the thrill of being in the driver’s seat with their favorite Fab Five driver to help raise money for charity.

Linscott Photography

Hoosier Park’s Fab Five drivers are (left to right) Jason Dillander, Joe Putnam, Trace Tetrick, Mike Peterson and Rick Macomber.

Each member of the Fab Five will be on hand to give guests a guided tour of Hoosier Park’s seven-eighths-mile oval. The Fab Five includes Jason “Bad Boy” Dillander, “True Blue” Joe Putnam, Trace of Luck Tetrick, Slick Rick Macomber, and Mike “Mo Pete” Peterson.

Charity Chariots will begin at the Grandstand Paddock located just south of the grandstand and will feature horses currently racing at the Anderson, Ind. track. Included in the lineup of horses is Day Glow from the Randy Hatton Stable, Chilling Effect from the Rick Redder Stable, Tanner Monroe from the Tom Hall Stable, Tessalation from the Jeff Brewer Stable and Jimmy Byers’ CJ Blaze, who was a winner on the Thursday, June 4, racing card.

Guests will complete one lap around the track beside the Fab Five driver of their choice in a two-seated jog cart. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. with rides held from 11 a.m. until Noon. The promotion is restricted to 18 years of age and older. Photographs will be available for an additional charge.

Cost for the promotion is $20 with half of the proceeds going to the drivers’ selected charity. The other half of the donation will go to Harness Tracks of America’s Scholarship Fund. Fab Five charities include the American Cancer Society for Dillander, Indiana School for the Deaf for Macomber, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) for Tetrick, Shriners Hospitals for Children for Peterson, and Outfitters, Inc. of Pendleton, Ind. for Putnam.

“This is a great opportunity for people to get the chance of a lifetime to sit behind a racehorse at Hoosier Park and get a feel for what we do as drivers,” said Putnam, who has more than 2,700 career wins and is among the track’s top five drivers all-time.

“And, the most important thing is we are raising money for some very worthwhile programs. Outfitters does some great things locally for kids who otherwise would not be well-equipped for school each year with clothing and supplies. I’m very glad to be helping out with this organization.”

Hoosier Park’s 2009 Standardbred season continues with live racing held Tuesday through Saturday. Post time is 4:45 p.m. each evening except Saturday when racing begins at 12:45 p.m. The $200,000 Dan Patch Invitational, Hoosier Park’s signature harness race, is set for Saturday, June 20, while racing concludes Saturday, July 11, with the Indiana Million Dollar Championships featuring $1 million in purse money for Indiana Sires Stakes.