The Pennsylvania fair circuit commenced a very busy week with Fair Sire Stakes action on Sunday, Aug. 10 and Monday, Aug. 11 at the Washington County Fairgrounds, known as Arden Downs during its Grand Circuit heyday, in southwestern Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, the Stay Hungry-Pueblo Blue Chip gelding Quill Gordon continued as the marquee horse among the freshmen, coming home first in 2:01.2. The fair season’s leader for his section and now a winner of three A-level races, Quill Gordon was driven by Eric Neal for trainer Mitchell York who co-owns him with Erin York.
A race earlier, the Sweet Lou-Takara Rose filly Vegas Queen, also her section’s fair season’s leader, recorded a fourth A-class win and a fourth straight victory overall, completing her mile in 2:04 for 19-year-old driver Jesse Barnard, in the sulky for trainer Neil Balcerak and owner George Prushnok.
Once again, the trotting fillies went faster than the trotting colts, and this time both their sections beat out the faster trot for colts and geldings. The speediest of all the freshmen diamondgaiters was Pa Patricia, a Father Patrick-Tymal Lux filly, who reported home first in 2:05.2 for driver Chris Shaw, trainer Ashley Brown, and the ownership pair of Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw.
The very first horse to cross the wire on Monday’s card for three-year-olds was Bettor Not, a Captain Crunch-Bettorhaveanother colt, who kept his seasonal fair record perfect with his seventh win, highest among all the horses. A four-time 2:00-or-better winner over the twicearounds this year, Bettor Not turned in the co-fastest mile of the meet of 2:00.3 for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, who co-owns the colt with Christine Schadel.
Matching Bettor Not’s clocking was the Tall Dark Stranger-Sansovina Hanover filly Skepticism, who won for the second straight fair stop after producing Honesdale’s fastest meet clocking of 1:59.3. Eric Neal steered the formful filly for trainer Tom Loughry Jr. and owner Geraldine Poerio. This division’s other A-level winner was the Always B Miki-Thecrowdiswatching miss Milagro, a defending fair champion and author of a 1:55.2 mile at Hughesville for fastest time on the circuit this season. She bounced back after having a five-race win streak broken in her last outing by posting a 2:02.2 tally for co-owner/driver Tony Schadel and co-owner/trainer Linda Schadel.
The colts and fillies were separated by only a tick on the trotting side, with the Todd Schadel barn sending out both fast diamondgaiters. The Bar Hopping-Promisemethis gelding Set The Bar, winning at the fairs for the fifth time, here produced a 2:03.1 clocking for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, who co-owns him with his wife Christine and Rick and Regina Beinhauer. Set The Bar is the fastest trotter at the fairs in 2025 with his 1:58.4 all-age track record at Hughesville.
The 2:03.2 trotting filly winner was the International Moni-Cantab Cabela distaff Tally The Tab, who also posted a fifth fair victory, and who is owned by Todd and Christine Schadel. Todd trains and drives the filly.
Close readers of this report have an inkling of what is coming in reporting the leading driver and trainer at Washington. Todd Schadel tallied seven wins in the bike, all with horses from his barn, to take both driving and training honours. He recorded a triple on Sunday and a grand slam on Monday to improve his seasonal training tally to 44 wins and his driving total to 39.
By the time you read this story, the races for the next circuit stop, at the Dayton Fair on Wednesday and Thursday, will have been drawn. The Dayton races will begin at noon on both days. The Somerset County Fair in Meyersdale will host the trotters and pacers on Thursday and Friday, while Saturday and Sunday will end the eventful week with racing at the Crawford County Fair in Meadville.
(With files from Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association, Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, and Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association)