from the PA Fair Harness Horseman’s Association

Prospect, PA — The late horseman Terry Schoeffel was very proud of his star horse Audie K, who set the track record of 2:00.2 at the Big Butler Fair way back in 1992 (racing for a purse of $925).

He and Audie are still proud today at the fairgrounds above, for the time recorded by the older performer has never been broken at Butler, but it has been equaled, by sophomore male Star Of Terror in 2016, and now by Cirrus De Vie in a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes 3-year-old colt pace on Friday (June 29), after the Thursday card for 2-year-olds had been washed out.

Ryan Zidek photo

Cirrus De Vie tied the all-age track record at the Butler Fair.

Cirrus De Vie had won last weekend at Hughesville, with the time disallowed due to exigent circumstances, but this equaling of the all-time record at Butler shows the Real Artist gelding at the top of his game in the early stages of the fair tour. Roger Hammer trains and drove the winner, and he co-owns him, now a winner of $52,533 and his 2-year-old Fair Championship, with Vicki Fair.

Like Cirrus De Vie, the Yankee Glide filly Kylah is a two-time winner at the 2018 fairs, and she earned herself some space in the Butler annals in the race immediately after his, with her clocking of 2:03.4 equaling the trotting record in her division, first put up by Missive in 2015 and then matched a year later by Regal Woman.

Just a head off the win in her Fair Championship at two, Kylah has come back strongly at three, with Shawn Johnston in the sulky today for trainer LaDarrius Whitaker and owner Shantae Gant — both from the hot Standardbred state of Louisiana.

Other double winners on the year in “A” Fair Sire Stakes competition are the 3-year-old colt trotter Eiffel Hanover, in 2:05.2 for Terry Schoeffel’s training/driving son Steve, and 3-year-old pacing filly Pretty Proud, first home in 2:02.4 for driver Schoeffel and trainer Rich Gillock.

Roger Hammer as trainer/driver had two horses who recorded their second wins in the “B” class, sophomore pacing gelding Marvalous Falcon in 2:02.4, and sophomore pacing filly Birch Bark in 2:06.

Those three wins gave Hammer the most victories for the one-day meet on both the training and driving side. His seven driving wins including Hughesville put him one ahead of Schoeffel for the circuit-long lead, and the seven conditioning triumphs have him far out in front — Gillock and Schoeffel are next in line with three.

The PA Fair Circuit now makes an unprecedented early summer turn to south-central Pennsylvania and the York Fairgrounds. The racing there has usually been conducted in mid-September, but this season the trotters and pacers will take to the track on Saturday (July 7) and Sunday (July 8).