Longtime horseman Mike Brink has had the same philosophy with his young horses every year: “Have them ready for the State Fairs and Super Night.”

Driver Jim Taggart Jr. teamed up with Swans Eye and So Diva to sweep the $12,500 co-featured events on Friday (Sept. 15) at Tioga Downs.

Unusual Clarity (Ron Harp) and Won Surreal Deal (Barton Dalious) finished in a dead heat in the $7,500 featured pace for fillies and mares on Friday (Sept. 15) at Vernon Downs.

Artistic Cut and Celebrity Pegasus captured their respective Open events Friday night (Sept. 15) at Northville Downs.

Local trotting favorite Lougazi had an easy time of it in the $15,000 Open I Handicap Trot at Batavia Downs on Friday night (Sept. 15) and chalked up his 56th lifetime win as a result.

Why Not Now and LeWayne Miller denied the advance of Coach Stefanos (Trace Tetrick) to capture the $80,000 Hoosier Cup, for Indiana-sired sophomore male pacers, in 1:50.1 on Friday (Sept. 15) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. J B Gram (Kyle Wilfong) was third.

The Ohio Selected Jug Sale was a flurry of bidding activity, paving the way for the highest gross in the sale’s storied history, which enjoyed a double digit increase of 10.7 percent from last year’s auction. The sale also saw the highest priced yearling sold in the state of Ohio fetch $225,000 from Greg Luther.

Shenandoah Downs will open its eighth annual fall racing season in the heart of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley this weekend with a pair of twelve race cards scheduled to go to post at 1 p.m. both Saturday, (Sept. 16) and Sunday, (Sept. 17). The seven-week season will continue thru October 29.