A sub-committee of the Delaware County Fair Board has initiated discussions to race select nights during the Delaware County Fair, home of the world famous Little Brown Jug
.
“We’re looking at the possibility of more attendance,” Phil Terry, fair manager, told the Delaware Gazette. “People take the day off for the Jugette and the Jug. We want to improve attendance for racing and in turn improve handle.”
Conducting nighttime harness racing would require improvements to the existing facility, primarily lighting for the track, barns and grandstand.
“Our racing is basically a daytime operation,” Terry said. “With all the horses now moving at daytime, we would have to improve lighting in the barn area if races moved to night.”
If the proposal, put forth by the fair board's "Out of the Box" committee, comes to fruition cards of harness racing on Monday and Tuesday would have a 5:00 p.m. post time. The board could vote on the proposal as soon as next month.
“It looks worth trying,” said fair board president Tim Wood. “We would still keep the traditional Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday as daytime races. Monday and Tuesday make for a good night racing opportunity.”
Early estimates place the cost of the lighting improvements at approximately $5,000.