by Lynn Chrisman

Lexington, KY — Fair action will take center stage Saturday (Aug. 4) at Red Mile in the Kentucky Fair finals, each racing for a purse of $15,000. A total of 48 starters will go to the gate in the eight races. Two races are scheduled pre-program with post time for the first race at 5:45 p.m. The pre-program races includes the 3-year-old filly trot and the 2-year-old colt and gelding trot.

The 3-year-old colt and gelding pace will feature Fort El Said trying to end his fair season with a win in the final after being nipped at the wire last week by Wizard Of Odds in 1:56.1 during the Mercer County Fair, raced at Red Mile. Fort El Said, who had been undefeated in his six prior fair starts hung tough with a last quarter in :27.4 but it wasn’t enough to stop Wizard Of Odds who boasted a last quarter in :26.2. Wizard Of Odds, a gelding by Bettor’s Delight, has made seven starts in 2018, and finished first or second in all of his prior races. He is trained by Jack Gray and is co-owned by Gray and April and Wiley Gustafson.

Owner and trainer Anette Lorentzon will send three horses postward in the fair finals Saturday after four wins last week at the Mercer County Fair from four starters. The Lorentzon-trained entries, with Elliott Deaton in the bike, includes the 2-year-old trotter Zazu As who took a mark of 2:01.1 in his fair race last week. The gelding by Lionhunter trotted a last quarter in a quick :26.4 to win by four lengths. He will take on four other trotting freshmen in the second pre-program race scheduled to go to the gate at 6 p.m.

Among the other starters for the Lorentzon-Deaton team is Tropical Splash As, a 3-year-old trotting gelding by Dejarmbro that took his fair race last week by a nose in 1:57.1. It was the 11th start of the year for the sophomore trotter who has hit the board finishing first, second or third in 10 of those starts.

Lorentzon will also send 3-year-old pacing filly Tiffany Rocks As to the track. The Pet Rock filly has already bankrolled $24,400 in nine starts so far in 2018. She hung on last week to a very narrow win in 1:56 over Worldofrockee who shook loose late after being boxed in down the stretch.

As the 2018 Kentucky Fair program comes to a close this Saturday, a total of seven county fairs were featured this summer with each race going for a purse of $5,000. The Kentucky Fair program, administered by the Kentucky Colt Racing Association, is considered a stepping stone to the Kentucky Sire Stakes series that race for a final purse of $250,000 in September at Red Mile. To be eligible for the Kentucky Fair program, a foal must be Kentucky sired or Kentucky bred.