by Jerry Connors, the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission

Harrisburg, PA — The three-year-old pacing colt Dixie Pride lowered the track record at Waynesburg, Pennsylvania as the three day meet at the Greene County Fair twicearound got underway on Tuesday.

Trainer/driver Joe Offutt, also co-breeder and co-owner with George Aide, guided the son of Real Artist to a 1:58⁴ clocking in a Pennsylvania Sires Stakes event, a time which lowered the old track record of Hip Huggers and Ron Burke by two-fifths of a second. (Burke responded immediately after the race, “I’m going to get a good horse for next year and come back and reclaim the track record!”).

Two-fifths of a second was also the margin -– the wrong way -– at the Wayne County Fair in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, as J T Wood paced in 2:00¹ in a Sires event to miss the track record of K T Beaner (Mitch Gray) by a pair of ticks. Fair horseman supreme Roger Hammer has his name associated with this sophomore son of Real Artist as breeder, owner, trainer, and driver.

Racing continues at both Waynesburg and Honesdale today and tomorrow; next week the Keystone fair circuit has three stops, in Washington, Wattsburg, and Dayton.