Stoneboro, PA – Braiden Rhoades, setting a pace that could get him to 300 driving victories this season, had driven at 21 Ohio fairs in 2026 before Thursday (Sept. 3), when for the first time the 21-year-old “crossed over” (18 miles) to a Pennsylvania fair, the Stoneboro Fair– and promptly swept the Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes 3-year-old colt pace “A” contests for trainer Neil Balcerak and owner George Prushnok.
These two races also produced the only 2:00 miles of the meet, and the pacers doubled the number of horses who have multiple 2:00 miles at Keystone fairs this season. The Always B Miki gelding Always B Hula went first and succeeded in 1:59.4 for his fourth win in his last six outings; then it was the turn of the Papi Rob Hanover gelding Adam Cheesehead, who paced the twice-around oval in 1:59. (Just for good measure, the Team also took a “B” event with Papi Hour, who was the Fair champion last year.)
There was also a “stable sweep” for trainer Steve Schoeffel in the “A” contest for the sophomore trotting colts. The Father Patrick gelding Family Guy tied for the lead at the fairs with his seventh top-level win in 2:06, driven by Steven Fedokovitz for the ownership of the Schoeffel Family Team (although trainer Steve is not a “Family” ownership guy), and then Steve himself guided the Captain Corey gelding Clark to a 2:04.4 win. Quickest trot win for the week went to the filly Miriams Warrior and her 2:04 victory.
The swiftest 2-year-old during their day of racing on Wednesday (Sept. 2) was the Stay Hungry-Pleasant Roll filly Honey Roll, guided by trainer Sam Beegle to a 2:01 victory for Bay Pond Racing Stable. The Wild Wild Western gelding Sunday Sermon, racing in a “B” division, was the fastest male freshman at 2:02 for Team Bolon.
The “A” divisions for baby trotting colts and fillies both had two divisions, and one of each was won by driver-trainer Todd Schadel and the other by driver Chris Shaw and trainer Ashley Brown. Team Schadel won with filly Rekindle Hanover and the gelding Langhorne Hanover, while Team Shaw/Brown tallied with the gelding Longshanks (fastest of the four at 2:04.4) and with the Father Patrick-Bar Bar miss Sister Saloon, whose fair record is now 7-6-1-0, including four straight wins, for owners Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw.
(Again, we wish that we could print all of the data associated with every winner – trainer, driver, owners, time, full breeding – at every fair, but we must work within our limits and guidelines, and try to more fully highlight those who at this meet had an outstanding achievement. We know that your time “in print” will again be coming soon.)
The combination of driver Chris Shaw and trainer Ashley Brown were almost unstoppable at Stoneboro, with Chris driving seven winners and Ashley harnessing six visitors to Victory Lane, with both wearing their respective categories’ crowns.
There are only four more stops on the 2026 Pennsylvania Fair Circuit, as the race to earn points to qualify for Oct. 9’s $200,000 Fair Sire Stakes Championships at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows (and maybe even the coveted blanket in stable colors for each group’s #1 point-winner) still rages fiercely.
The next two stops for the circuit are at Gratz, which holds its two-day meet this Saturday and Sunday (entries already drawn), and then will have its Fair Meet on Sunday-Monday Sept. 13-14 (that draw Friday, Sept. 11). A two-day meet at Meyersdale on Sept. 19-20 will lead into the traditional Fair Meet at Bloomsburg on Sept. 25-26 in bringing down the 2026 curtain at the Pennsylvania Fairs.