Stoneboro, PA — The 3-year-old Always B Miki pacing filly Milagro, a 2024 Pennsylvania fair champion, continued to be the circuit’s big story in 2025, winning her 10th fair “A” stakes of the year on Thursday (Aug. 28) at the Stoneboro Fair.
Owned by the leading connections on the Pennsylvania fair circuit this year, trainer Linda Schadel and driver Tony Schadel, Milagro won the fastest of the three “A” Fair Sire Stakes divisions for her group in 1:59.4, giving her six 2:00 miles during the summer for the top spot in that category. She also has paced the fastest mile of the year on the circuit, 1:55.2 at Hughesville, which ties the record for any Pennsylvania fair for her age, sex and gait.
The other “A” filly winners were the Always B Miki filly Golden Magic, home in 2:00 for driver Case Bateson and trainer Doug Snyder; and Milagro’s stablemate Tina’s Wish, a 2:00.2 winner.
Two other sophomores entered Thursday with nine fair victories, but both were upset in going for double digits. Bettor Not, undefeated in his first nine fair races in 2025, was beaten by the Heston Blue Chip pacing gelding Happy Hour Blues, who won three straight in Bs and now has taken two in As, this one part of driver Steven Fedokovitz’s first career driving double. The other section was faster, as the Papi Rob Hanover gelding Stealing Apples got the stopwatch to click in 2:00 for Team Barnard: driver Jesse and owner/trainer Savannah.
The second horse to stall at the nine-win count was male trotter Lionheart Hanover, who was upended by Andover’s Hotrod and trainer/driver Todd Schadel. Schadel also drove the fastest trotting winner at Stoneboro, the International Moni filly Tally The Tab, who has eight fair successes after covering Stoneboro in 2:02.1.
Thursday had another noteworthy accomplishment, the first-ever driving victory for 22-year-old Abigail Wright, behind the Captain Ahab filly Melville, a horse she co-owns with trainer Gary Johnston.
Turning to Wednesday (Aug. 27) and the 2-year-olds, and another pacing filly emerged as her class’s biggest winner, with the Sweet Lou-Takara Rose filly Vegas Queen becoming the first to get six “A” freshman triumphs with a 2:03 mile for driver David Brickell, trainer Neil Balcerak, and owner George Prushnok.
In an ironic parallel to the sophomores, two other freshmen were entered for Stoneboro tied with Vegas Queen as five-time winners. But pacing gelding Quill Gordon was scratched from a race that produced the quickest 2-year-old clocking, the 2:01.2 produced by the Tall Dark Stranger-Viva La Deo gelding Venom Hanover. And trotting gelding RT Wonder Colt came up shy in a 2:06 victory by Mohawk, an altered son of Captain Corey-Chips N Caviar. Mohawk’s time tied for the fastest freshman trotting mile on the circuit with the winning effort of the International Moni-By A Nose Hanover gelding Nose Jammer.
Todd Schadel, took Stoneboro honors on both the driving and training sides, with seven victories in each category. The tussle for yearly honors figures to be close: the drivers’ table is topped by Tony Schadel, with 61 wins; Eric Neal, 59; and Todd Schadel, 57; the leading trainer is Linda Schadel, with 60 wins over Todd Schadel’s 59.
Only five more stops remain among the 19 meets that comprise the Pennsylvania fair circuit. Gratz, Pa., will host the next two Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes races, with its “two-day” meet Sept. 6-7, and then its “fair” meet Sept. 14-15. Post time for all four Gratz cards has been set for 12 noon.
For more information, visit pafairsracing.org.