by Myles Linderman

Urbana, OH — The Champaign County Fair in Urbana, Ohio, is gearing up for another four days of exciting harness racing in 2017. The first day of racing will be held on Sunday (Aug. 6) with a first race post time of 1:30 p.m.

The fair will also play host to racing on Tuesday (Aug. 8) through Thursday (Aug. 10). Post time on Tuesday through Thursday is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night is the always popular Chamber of Commerce Night, where a free TV will be given away after every race.

New to the Sunday card this year is the Champaign County Pacing Derby. The Derby is limited to pacers owned by Champaign County residents, or horses trained by trainers stabled at the historic fairgrounds. These pacers may not have raced for a purse over $10,000 in their last four starts. Also new to the Sunday card is a non-winners of one pari-mutuel race for pacers.

In addition to the many overnight races offered, the fair is set to host eight divisions of the WOCRA stakes with lucrative purses. The fair will pay tribute to Urbana legends Dick Buxton and Bob Seabrook, with respective Signature Series divisions. The Dick Buxton Trot figures to be an exciting event with added money in 2017. The trotting track record established in 2002 of 1:58.1, held by Route Three-O-Nine, could be in jeopardy of falling.

In all events, declarations must be made by 10 a.m. three days preceding the race. The race office will be open Aug. 3 at 8 a.m. to take entries, with the box closing at 10 a.m. The race office strongly encourages the use of the USTA online entry system.