by Kurt Becker

Pana, IL — A streamlined racing program at the 67th annual Pana/Tri-County Fair over Labor Day weekend produced a pair of track record performances, while a horse which had been winless on the season notched the fastest mile of the meet before a large and enthusiastic crowd.

Condensing three racing programs into two as a result of ongoing budget negotiations at the nearby state capital in Springfield, the weekend saw Tracy’s Hero emerge as the meet’s fastest winner, snapping an 0-for-11 slate in 2015 with a 1:58.3 score in the Free For All Pace for trainer-driver Clark Fairley and owners Marsha Combs-Skinner and Larry Skinner.

Show Stopin Monkey, driven by Freddie Patton Jr. for trainer RoShun Trigg, shattered the all-age trotting mark with a wire-to-wire triumph in 1:58.4, making for the third-fastest trotting mile in Illinois County Fair history. Only a pair of 1:58.3 miles at the Brown County Fair in Mt. Sterling rank higher on the state’s all-time list.

In the Illinois Big Ten Colt Stakes, Primed N Powerful became the fastest 2-year-old trotter ever at Pana with a 2:04.4 effort for driver Cornelius Cavett, shortly after Surviver Di had captured the filly division for her 17th win on the campaign — tops among all freshmen nationally — with owner-trainer Steve Renard in the sulky.

Longtime speed superintendent Tom Latonis acknowledged the efforts of his track crew in conditioning a half-mile oval which had been dormant since the conclusion of the 2014 fair, and he extended his thanks to horsemen and racing officials alike who worked with the board of directors to sustain racing at the fair despite continuing budget challenges.