Harveys Lake, PA — Two-year-olds took center stage as the Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes circuit visited the Silver Springs Ranch, a training center in northeast Pennsylvania not far from The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, for a two-day event on Thursday and Friday (July 28-29), with rookies leading off the action.

Annapolis Hanover broke the existing 1:59.2 standard for 2-year-old pacing geldings set by Halliwell Hanover in the very first purse race ever held at Silver Springs Ranch, three years ago, with a 1:59.1 performance on Thursday. The Stay Hungry-All Night Long gelding furthered the cycle of veteran David Brickell and son-in-law Mitchell York, who co-owned Halliwell Hanover, as Brickell drove Annapolis Hanover Thursday for owner-trainer York. Annapolis Hanover is himself already a five-time winner, including a “Pennsylvania Stakes Trifecta” in his last three: a Pennsylvania All-Stars event, a pari-mutuel Sire Stakes, and now a Fair Sire Stakes.

Also adding a line to the annals Thursday was the Betting Line-Goldies Bad Girl pacing filly Rambling Ruby, who equaled her division’s 2:02.2 standard set by Search Light. The parallels continue: Todd Schadel drove Search Light, and he also trains and drove Rambling Ruby to her fourth victory in “A” Fair Sire Stakes, the first to reach that mark, for Andy Miller Stable Inc., Jean Goehlen and Bert Hochsprung.

During Friday’s 3-year-old action, the Always B Miki colt Buchannon Hanover closed out the short meet by becoming the first two-time 2:00 winner at the fairs this year with a 1:59.2 mile for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, who shares ownership with his wife, Christine. In all, Todd Schadel sent out nine winners during the short meet and drove them all.

Sam Beegle drove two winners Friday to bring his lifetime total to 992.

The cards are already drawn for the four-day stay at the Clearfield County Fair in the northern half of the state, with 34 heats set to go at the four-wide oval on Sunday through Wednesday (July 31-Aug. 3), with an experimental 5:30 p.m. start for Tuesday being tested against the regular 1 p.m. first race.