Bedford, PA — Two-year-olds and females took the lion’s share of the spotlight during the two-day Fair Sire Stakes meet at Bedford, Pa., on Tuesday (July 30) and Wednesday (July 31), with the freshman divisions all getting fair season’s records and fillies recording faster miles than their male counterparts in all four of the “A” Fair Sire Stakes classifications.
Top equine honors for the meet went to the 2-year-old Cantab Hall-Cocktail Attiretrotting miss Classy Cocktail, a homebred racing for trainer-driver Tony Schadel and his wife, Linda, as she toured the fairgrounds oval in 2:00.3, a track record and only two-fifths of a second off the all-time Pennsylvania fairs standard for age, sex and gait, set by Quarantina at Gratz in 2022. Tony Schadel also won with Just A Sheila to sweep the “A” races in that sector.
Sam Beegle, who notched his 1,000th career driving win with Ginger Tree Millie in the first race of the meet at his hometown track, almost had a full sweep of the 2-year-old pacing filly action. In the race after Ginger Tree Millie set the 2:00.1 division fair mark, Ginger Tree Jean missed by a neck in the other “A” cut; later Ginger Tree Rosie won the “B” division.
Trainer-driver Todd Schadel took two of the three divisions of the main 2-year-old colt trot, with Andover’s Hotrod (equaling his own seasonal record of 2:03.4) and Pelham Parkway. But in the division he lost, his Born Silly, the only horse at the meet with a chance to get to five “A” fair victories, made a break at the start, rallying from last and over 20 lengths down at the quarter to come back to be elevated to second place behind the victorious Friendly Cantab.
The baby pacing colts garnered a measure of respect in the “B”division, as the Captain Crunch-Bettorhaveanother colt Bettor Not became the fastest freshman of the year at the fairs with a 1:58.4 win for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, who shares ownership with his wife, Christine.
The females were still in the ascendancy during Wednesday’s racing for 3-year-olds, as the Betting Line miss Adroit Hanover paced in 1:57.4, the fastest mile of the meet, to win by a nose over Chatty Vanessa for driver Steve Schoeffel. Trainer Susan Callihan shares ownership with Gregory Callihan and Nichole Buchleitner.
The colts’ section did generate the other 2:00 mile of the meet with the If I Can Dream gelding Dry Ridge Erie, home first in 1:58.2 for driver Shawn Johnston, trainer Gary Johnston, and owner Randy Ringer to become the first fair horse to post three 2:00 miles this year.
The speed sweep was completed by the Father Patrick miss Noelle’s Alibi, a winner in 2:00.3, quicker than any colt, for driver Eric Neal, trainer Bill Daugherty Jr., and owner Susan Daugherty.
Todd Schadel again won both meet horsemen’s titles, but barely: His four driving wins beat out Shawn Johnston and Steve Schoeffel by one, and his three training success was also tops by one, with Sam Beegle, Joyce Lineweaver, Tony Schadel and Steve Schoeffel just in behind.
The Pennsylvania Fair Circuit moves to Honesdale, in the northeast corner of the state. Honesdale will host racing on Friday (Aug. 2) and Saturday (Aug. 3) at 1 p.m., and then the track comes right back to host its “fair” meet, with start times of 3 p.m. next Wednesday (Aug. 7) and 1 p.m. on Thursday (Aug. 8), with free-for-all events on both fair cards.