The 2021 Pennsylvania Fair Harness Racing Circuit gets into action on Tuesday (June 29) with the first of two days of racing at the Big Butler Fair, just north of Pittsburgh.

The circuit will consist of its traditional 20 stops: five “two-day” events away from the fairs, as prescribed by state law, and 15 meets during the operation of the fairs. The circuit will extend to its traditional closing spot at the Bloomsburg Fair in late September. The top horses on the circuit will gather at The Meadows on Oct. 8 to decide their divisional championships.

Two-year-olds will be featured on the Tuesday card. Wednesday’s (June 30) card featuring three-year-olds finds two 2020 Fair championship winners competing — fillies Tiamogonedancin on the pace and Explosive Flower on the trot — in consecutive races. Given the cooperation of the weather, the Butler track records – 2:03 on the trot by Dauphin Hanover in 1994, and 2:00.1 on the pace by Crew Sock Hanover in 2019 — could be approachable.

The United States Trotting Association recently announced the 10 fairs who will receiv $1,000 in matching marketing funds based on applications to the USTA, and Pennsylvania venues dominated the list with four awardees: the Clearfield County Fair, the Erie County Fair in Wattsburg, the Greene County Fair in Waynesburg, and the Indiana County Fair.

(MSOA, PHHA and Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen Association)