from Publicity Office, Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association
Bloomsberg, PA — The Somebeachsomewhere sophomore gelding Midway Island posted the fastest mile in the history of Pennsylvania fair harness racing on Saturday (Sept. 23) when he won in 1:53.4 at the Bloomsburg fairgrounds.
Chris Shaw stated his intentions early when he sent Midway Island to the quarter in :28, opening a five-length lead, then had doubled his lead by the half with a :27.2 second quarter for a :55.2. The pair went on in :28.2 to get to the 1:23.4 three-quarter pole 15 lengths ahead and then continued on to post a 13-1/4 length victory in the record clocking. This took down the previous all-time Keystone State fair standard of 1:54 posted by 4-year-old Alastor Hanover right at this track. The overall 3-year-old colt and gelding pacing record for Pa. fairs also fell (Lahaye, 1:55.1, Gratz, 2009).
Midway Island also posted an all-age track record (1:58, Meadville) and tied another (2:00.1, Wattsburg) while posting four 2:00 victories on the circuit. Ironically, the sophomore needed this start to guarantee his spot in the Pennsylvania Fair championships at The Meadows on Saturday (Oct. 7). This was despite being undefeated through his first four fair starts which gave him enough points to qualify. The rules state that a horse must start five times at the fairs, or he or she can be “bumped” by any entrant with fewer points but the requisite number of starts.
Seventeen minutes earlier, driver Shaw, trainer Ron Burke (who was 11-for-11 at the fairs this year), and owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc., and David Wills had a horse of theirs post the fastest trotting mile in Bloomsburg history, as the Yankee Glide gelding New Heaven toured the twicearound in 1:58.3. Despite having to come first-over, New Heaven smoked his last half in :57.4 to win by 5-1/4 lengths.
The only record New Heaven didn’t break was the 1:58.2 all-time Pennsylvania fair mark set by 5-year-old Shark Kosmos at Gratz in 2003. All the other relevant records fell: the local all-age record (3TF T V Star Kosmos, 1:59, 2003); the divisional track record (1:59.4, shared by Giant Checkerboard [1997] and Reputation [2008]); and the Pennsylvania all-fair divisional mark (3TC S J Better Days, 1:58.4, Gratz, 2011).
Burke might have won 11 in a row, but a 3-year-old trotting filly went him one better. The Donato Hanover miss All Set Lets Go, who, after starting her fair season with a third, then ran off 12 consecutive victories, including a 2:01.4 triumph on Saturday for driver Roger Hammer, trainer John McMullen Jr. and his family’s McMullen Stable LLC. The filly accumulated 453 points in the fair scoring system – and wrested the all-over top spot on this last day of the 2017 circuit.
All Set Lets Go and her pacing counterpart Bella Ragaza has started the day even with 418 points, but Bella Ragaza couldn’t quite get to Victory Lane. She finished second and came up 10 points shy. Her conqueror here was no fluky winner as it was the Dragon Again filly Camera Lady, who was last year’s winningest 2-year-old in North America with 15. She was in tremendous form going to her championship battle with Bella Ragaza, with nine fair wins, including her last four trips to the gate. Trainer Dave Brickell, who co-owns with Mitchell York, had two fillies in the one-heat event and tapped Shaw to do the driving behind Camera Lady on Saturday.
Moving on to the 2-year-old action held Friday (Sept. 22) Venier Hanover is the fastest Pennsylvania fair freshman ever. The altered son of Well Said-Valmctorian, trained and driven by Brickell, who is co-owner with Mitchell York, had lowered Pennsylvania freshman annals with his 1:56.4 mile at Gratz last week. He then came back five days later to lower that mark to 1:56.1, also busting past the 1:57 local record co-held by Dixie Pride and Shu Hanover (both in 2003).
Venier Hanover ended his 2017 fairs season with a 12-11-1-0 record, an all-age 2:00.1 track record at Wattsburg (tied by Midway Island the next day), eight divisional track records, seven miles in 2:00 or less, and the most points acquired by freshmen at 410.
Shaw saw his seasonlong driving victory total dwindle to 60-59 after Friday’s action and a Hammer quadruple to his single victory, but four wins on Saturday to Hammer’s double gave the 2017 driving title to Shaw by a 64-61 title. Hammer, who was top driver for the meet with six, also was leading trainer at Bloomsburg with four wins and finished his runaway season’s training title with 55 harnessed victorious chargers. This was far ahead of Todd Schadel and Jason Shaw, who dead-heated for second with 32.
The PFHHA and PHHA want to thank Bloomsburg Superintendent of Horse Racing John Brokenshire for his excellent stewardship in this, his first year in charge of the racing. A longtime equine enthusiast, Brokenshire’s major contribution may have been persuading the Bloomsburg fair board to conduct its harness racing at the start of the fair, rather than in mid-fair, after tractor pulls and whatnot made the racing surface subpar and open to rainouts. No track mark had been set at Bloomsburg since 2008. The track today was in great shape largely through Brokenshire’s leadership.