Shenandoah Downs and the United States Harness Drivers Club (USHDC) teamed up to make a harness racing Saturday a memorable one on May 11 as no less than five charitable organizations were honoured during a 20th birthday bash for the iconic Foiled Again, who made a special appearance at the Downs for an enthusiastic crowd.
While Eugene Robinson was the driving star in the USHDC event with his own Crush Hanover, he insisted that his efforts on the track this day should play “second fiddle” to the quintet of charities that benefitted from the teamwork of Shenandoah Downs and the USHDC.
The five charitable organizations that received donations this day were Response, Inc., Shenandoah County Pregnancy Center, Shenandoah County 4H Dominican Republic Club, Elegius Mini Equine Sanctuary and the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.
Response, Inc., provides help to survivors of traumatic violence while the County Pregnancy Center provides complete and accurate information enabling informed decisions for family matters. The 4H Club members learn about culture and develop cross-cultural skills and learn about tropical ecosystems while conducting day camp for local children. The final two awards were made to the Elegies Mini Horse Sanctuary that promotes, protects, rehabilitates and provides aid for miniature horses, ponies and donkeys, and harness racing’s grand Hall of Fame and Museum in Goshen, New York.
In a joint statement from from Shenandoah Downs’ Dee Lineweaver and Tom Eichas, Treasurer of the USHDC, these two expressed thanks for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of local citizens: “This is exactly what harness racing and amateur clubs can do in improving lives covering all arenas of life today. The USHDC members donate all of the driving earnings from their races for charitable distribution and the impact on our communities cannot be adequately described. It’s just fantastic!”
On the racing side of the ledger, owner-trainer-driver Eugene Robinson sent his nine-year-old gelding Crush Hanover right to the front from his outside post and put up fractions of :28, :56.4 and 1:26 en route to a handy victory measuring 6-1/2 lengths in 1:55.3, a seasonal best. Memory Dream, handled by Ernest Taylor, was in the garden spot all the way and did finish second while So Take That, with Alexandria Golden in the sulky, was third. Into The Night, with Kevin Altig handling the lines, was next with Morgans All In, with Scott Woogen in the bike, getting the nickel in this sextet.
In a post race interview, Robinson said, “This was his first race here from Rosecroft and he really likes it when he joins the fray early—many of his lifetime wins are just like the one today so my strategy was to let him do what he wants to do best. He was sharp and I gotta give credit to the horse, who took me along for the ride today!”
For Crush Hanover, it was his second win of the season in 14 starts—25th victory lifetime—sending the nine-year-old Russell Hanover gelding's career earnings to $144,552.
As second choice in the betting, Crush Hanover paid $6.40 to win.
The USHDC has donated more than $320,000 USD to worthy charitable causes since its inception as the generosity of the members donate all earnings from USHDC races for charitable distribution.
(With files from USHDC)