Honesdale, PA – The Pennsylvania Fair Circuit made the first of two consecutive stops in this northeast Pennsylvania borough, not too distant from the New York state line, on Saturday and Sunday for a 2-Day Fair Sire Stakes meet; there will also be two days of racing during the fair proper this coming Wednesday (Aug. 12) and Thursday (Aug. 13).
The Two-Day meet had a simple theme each day – the cards was A Tale of Two Teams, with one braintrust having a tremendous Saturday with their two-year-olds and another combination dominating the three-year-old action the next day.
The freshman kings came largely from the Todd Schadel operation, with the headliner the International Moni – Alidade trotting colt Allmymoni Hanover, who won in 2:03.1, fastest on that gait by the babies (and even faster than the sophomores the next day). This was his third fair victory for Team Schadel (Todd trainer-driver and co-owner with Christine), turning back RT Road To Glory, the season’s recordholder.
The latter trotter campaigns for driver Eric Neal and trainer Tom Loughry Jr.; they would bounce back in the filly division with 2026 fair speed leader Western Twister, now undefeated in four fair outings after a 2:03.3 triumph that missed the Honesdale record by two ticks.
On the pace, Todd Schadel as trainer-driver-co-owner had a sweep of the freshman “A” events for males, with the colt Fast Getaway (Papi Rob Hanover – Warrawee Quick, 2:02) and the gelding Keystone Carnegie (Sweet Lou – Pending Approval, 2:03.1). Putting a fourth fair win on the “A” filly Harmony Hanover (Papi Rob Hanover – Hailey Hanover, 2:06.4) ran the barn’s win count on Saturday to five, with Todd handling four (son Cody piloted two winners, one for his dad and the other a catch-drive).
Sunday and the three-year-olds redirected the brightest beams of fortune to the combination of driver Eric Neal and trainer Tom Loughry Jr., who had already won one “A” trot with a filly and was second in another with a colt the day before. That one dropped “A” race was the only “A” trot that Neal/Loughry didn’t win during the meet; in fact, on Sunday they won both the “A” and the “B” trot for both sexes!
The “A” winners on the trot for Team Neal/Loughry were the filly Hot For Her (sire Father Patrick, 2:04) and the Fordham Road gelding RT Wonder Colt, who needed only 2:09.3 in a two-horse event. Like Team Schadel, Team Neal/Loughry has one principal owner (for them, the Brocious Racing Stable; for Schadel, usually some combination of Todd and wife Christine), but both have “outside” owners, all enjoying the successful run of luck they are both going through.
Todd did in fact on Sunday sweep the filly paces with Papi Knows (Papi Rob Hanover, 2:03.1) and Don’t Be Late (Bettor’s Wish, 2:03.3). Fastest mile of the meet came in the “A” sector, by another Papi Rob Hanover offspring, Adam Cheesehead, who won in 2:01.3 for driver Billy Carter, trainer Neil Balcerak, and owner George Prushnok.
The two hot combos split the horsemen’s honors for the two-day meet: Eric Neal drove seven winners, one more than Todd Schadel, while Schadel sent out one more winner than Loughry, 6-5. And all of the totals involved in these battles are especially noteworthy when you consider that the meet consisted of only 18 races.
The “luck” may be wider-spread when the Honesdale Fair meet goes into action on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at noon. Entries are drawn on Monday the 10th, per Pennsylvania fair custom; and horsemen are reminded that the Honesdale Fair meet offers two $2000 free-for-all contests, with the pacers going on Wednesday and the trotters on Thursday – if you have a candidate, Monday’s the draw day!