by Darrell Wood, for Shenandoah Downs

Woodstock, VA — Local Woodstock trainer Betsy Brown scored a driving/training triple, Chuck Perry inched closer to a career milestone, and Fixed Income forced herself into a “Horse of the Meet” conversation in an eventful Saturday (Oct. 7) of harness racing at Shenandoah Downs.

Brown’s Calcutta, Believe In Him and BP Burner all reached the winner’s circle as area residents filling the grandstand cheered.

Calcutta wired the field in the day’s kick-off event and won her second straight. The 8-year-old Tom Ridge mare, owned by Terry Kibler, won by 2-1/2 lengths and crossed the wire in 2:00.1.

She won her 19th career race and is less than $1,000 shy of reaching the $200,000 level in earnings. She will have a chance to do so at Shenandoah next week during the meet’s closing weekend.

Believe In Him shook off four straight runner-up finishes to claim victory in the third race trot. The 3-year-old Conway Hall filly collected that batch of seconds during the Shenandoah County Fair meet, which preceded the pari-mutuel season in Woodstock.

Brown had Believe In Him positioned second in the final turn before passing front stepping Toolbox Tuesday in the stretch. The victor won by a length in 2:03.3, her second career score.

Brown completed the hat trick with BP Burner courtesy of a fifth-to-first burst in race seven’s final quarter.

The 5-year-old Brian P gelding, sent off as the betting choice, passed four in the final stanza and crossed the finish line 1-1/4 lengths the best in 1:56.4.

Chuck Perry had a pair of wins aboard Highland Hellion and Last Chance Harvey, giving the 52-year-old reinsman a total of 998 career victories. The former, a 9-year-old Mach Three gelding, won for the second time in three starts in the “Valley” while the latter, an 8-year-old Full Of Fun gelding who was 2016 Co-Horse of the Meet, prevailed for the first time in five starts this year.

Perry has six drives scheduled on Sunday.

Cory Kreiser’s Fixed Income won her third straight start at Shenandoah and fifth straight overall with another stellar effort. The 6-year-old Yankee Cruiser mare wired the field again and cruised to a 5-1/4 length triumph in 1:54.0. She previously won in 1:54.1 and 1:53.4.

The hot pacer came to Shenandoah fresh off a pair of 1:54.2 winning miles at The Meadows.

Prior to this five-race streak, Fixed Income had only two wins from 98 career starts.

Shenandoah Downs will usher out the fourth weekend of racing with a nine-race card on Sunday. Post time is 1 p.m.