The 2012 Pennsylvania Fair Racing season commences on Saturday (June 16), opening for the first time at the Erie County Fairgrounds.
Two days of Sire Stake racing will be held at the Wattsburg, Pennsylvania location. By Pennsylvania law, five venues that host races during their regular fair week can also host two day of Sire Stakes outside of their traditional dates, and Wattsburg was selected this season to host the season-opener for the first time.
Eleven stake races for three-year-olds will take place on Saturday. The highest purse of the day will be in the first race, a three-year-old filly trot, which features a field of six and will go for $5,817.
On Sunday, nine groups of two-year-olds will make their fair racing debuts. Two groups of two-year-old colt pacers will each vie for more than $6,000 in purse money. In all, more than $95,000 in purse money will be up for grabs over the weekend.
Wattsburg, which will also host racing in late August during its traditional fair week, will be the first of 20 stops on the circuit for the season. The Crawford County Fairgrounds in Meadville will be up next, hosting a two-day Sire Stake event on June 23 and 24.
Horses competing in Pennsylvania Sire Stake events on the fair circuit will accumulate points for the Fair Championships, which will take place at The Meadows in October.
This weekend in Erie County, first race post will be 1 p.m. each day, and admission is free.
(PA Fair Harness Horsemen's Association)