by Bill Peters

Edgerton, OH — The harness racing program at the 2016 Wood County Fair at Bowling Green, Ohio, which took place on Monday (Aug. 1) and Tuesday (Aug. 2) was highlighted by the demolishing of the track record for 2-year-old colt pacers.

Dancin Fever (Indian Fever-First To Cruise) came home first in 1:58.3 to break the old mark of 2:01.4 by three and one-fifth seconds. The previous record was originally established by Flip Flap Time in 1989 and equaled by Contraband in 2009. Bill Webb trains Dancin Fever and also co-owns him with the D and K Stables LLC. Mark Headworth had the winning drive in the record-setting mile.

The fastest pacing mile of the week was turned in by Real Joy (Real Artist-Cara Mia Hanover). The 8-year-old mare toured the Bowling Green oval in 1:58.2. Corinne Flis trains the mare for owner Richard Noel with Mark Headworth picking up the winning catch-drive.

Chuck Taylor steered Swan Leader (Swan For All-Lasting Beauty) to the fastest trot of the week with a time of 2:02.3. Taylor also trains the 4-year-old gelding and co-owns him with Vivian Booher.

Mark Headworth drove seven winners during the two-day meet to capture the driving honors. John Konesky III and Bill Webb each had three training wins to share the accolades in that category.

The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association’s “Racing with the Stars” exhibit was on display on Tuesday to provide entertainment and information to harness racing fans of all age groups. The harness racing program concluded with OHHA Project Coordinator Susan Schroeder conducting a stick-horse race in which 11 young fans took great pleasure.

A big thank you to Speed Superintendent Dennis Zernhel and fellow Speed Committee members Dave Chamberlain, Tom Ziegler and Donald Bechstein for putting on a great two-day show. Also, a big hats-off to all of the Wood County horsemen for helping out wherever needed.

The Ohio Fair Racing Conference will continue next week with racing at three fairs. The Cuyahoga County Fair at Berea will race on Tuesday (Aug. 9) with a 12 noon post time. The Attica Independent Fair at Attica will have a two-day meet on Wednesday (Aug. 10) and Thursday (Aug. 11). Wednesday’s races get underway at 6 p.m. with Thursday’s races having a 1 p.m. post time. The racing for the week will conclude with a three-day meet at the Hartford Independent Fair at Croton. Action at Croton will take place on Thursday (Aug. 11), Friday (Aug. 12) and Saturday (Aug. 13) with a 1 p.m. post time each day.