Driver Brad Kramer was the king of the two-day harness racing stand at the Fowlerville Family Fair, winning five Spartan Stakes divisions on Monday (July 22), the highlight of week five of the 2024 Michigan fair harness racing circuit and the richest program of the season to date.
Among Kramer's winning drives was Kelly Goodwin and Crystal Terrell's Forever A Flirt, who extended her undefeated seasonal record to five-for-five with a 2:00.1 win in the $13,904 first Spartan division for three-year-old pacing fillies. The daughter of Bondi Hanover-Always A Romance circled three-wide up the backstretch to clear the lead past a :30.2 first quarter before coasting unchallenged through middle splits of 1:00.1 and 1:31.1 and then drawing 4-1/2 lengths clear of runner-up Solidazabrickhouse.
Kramer and Goodwin also teamed up to give Kourageous Key his fourth win in five seasonal starts in the $27,397 sophomore colt and gelding pace. The Manhardt-Kwani Key gelding rated his first three-quarters in 1:31.1 before digging in through a :28.3 sprint home to stave off Isle Of Man by a half length in 1:59.4. Kramer's other Spartan Stakes winners were Fancywontletyadown (2:00.4), in the $13,904 second division for three-year-old pacing fillies; Myheartfromtestart (2:05), in the $27,397 two-year-old filly pace; and Not Fake New's (2:02.4), in the $27,397 two-year-old male pace.
Sophomore trotting geldings Guns A Brazen (2:03.3, Raymond Kinney) and Kaa Dee Archie (2:05.1, David Lake) also kept their respective undefeated fair seasons intact with wins in their respective $13,904 Spartan splits.
Tuesday's (July 23) program saw three horses post winning miles faster than 2:00, all in $1,370 free-for-all pacing events: Natives Filou, who won in 1:59.3 for trainer-driver Gerald Malady; RB, who rallied to a 1:59.4 score for driver Ty Goodell and owner-trainer Kim Pluta; and Dandys World, who ground to a 1:59.3 win over Magic Shark for driver Kody Massey and owner-trainer Ronnie Moawad.
Week five began with a two-day meeting at the Tuscola County Fair, in Caro, Mich., featuring Colt Stakes events for Michigan-bred horses on Saturday (July 20) and overnight races on Sunday (July 21).
Rankin, who campaigns as a homebred for owner-trainer Judy Roegner, added another track record to his résumé in an $10,959 Colt Stakes for three-year-old male trotters, which he won in 2:00 with Tim Roach in tow. The son of Enterprise-Luvyaformiles knocked 1-3/5 seconds off the previous all-age trotting record at Caro, which was previously set by Super Top and driver Bob Sampson in 1990.
Mother Mary also made her way into the Caro record books, with her 1:58.1 mile in an $11,164 Colt Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies besting the previous all-age pacing mark of 1:59.1, set by Gabe The Babe. Brad Kramer drove the Rockin Image-PV Miracle Mary mare for owner-trainer-breeder Joe Casagranda.
Week six of the Michigan fair circuit features racing at the Clare County Fair, in Harrison, Mich., on Thursday (July 25) and Friday (July 26) with first post at 12 noon both days; and at the Huron Community Fair, in Bad Axe, Mich., on Sunday (July 28) and Monday (July 29) at 1 p.m.
(Michigan Harness Horsemen's Association)