The Orleans County Fair in Barton, Vermont will welcome a quartet of harness racing stars, two equine and two human, on Friday, August 21 at 12:30, for their 142nd year of racing. Barton is located in Vermont’s picturesque 'Northeast Kingdom,' where Vermont, New Hampshire and Quebec meet.
Fran Azur, a standardbred owner with businesses in nearby Newport, Vermont and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has arranged for two of his stable stars, Blue Ridge Western and Noble Falcon, to compete in an exhibition race with Tim Tetrick and Brian Sears, respectively, driving. Sears heads to Barton fresh off a victory behind Muscle Hill in the August 8 $1.5 million Hambletonian, televised live on NBC.
Azur’s motive is to help the fair where he first saw harness racing as a child. “Just to help the Barton fair,” he declared. “I grew up in Newport, Vermont. It ought to be a nice event. I was there in the '50s, '60s and '70s and we always went to the Barton Fair. I left Vermont in about 1970 and have had different business across the country. I’ve been in Pittsburgh for about 20 years now, but I’ve always loved harness racing and we do what we can.”
Azur and his wife Melanie will attend the races that day. They have also provided a $16,000 purse supplement to the Barton races on both August 21 and 22, as well as a generous subsidy for promotion of the races. Horsemen have in the past competed for purses well less than $1,000 a race at Barton.
Blue Ridge Western and Noble Falcon will be stabled in a private tent constructed just for them next to Barn #1 at the fairgrounds. Visitors can see the two geldings in their stable from 10:00 a.m. to noon on August 21. After the 12:30 p.m. exhibition race, fans are welcome to bring cameras for photos and pet the horses outside the tent from approximately 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 pm. Races begin that day at 1:30 p.m.
Sears and Tetrick will also be hand to greet fans in the grandstand and sign free photos from noon to about 12:15 p.m. and again immediately after the exhibition race (approximately 12:45 p.m.) until about 2:00 p.m., when the duo leaves to race at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. They will travel between Teterboro, New Jersey to Newport in Azur’s private jet.
Both Blue Ridge Western and Noble Falcon are trained by Kevin McDermott, who will accompany them.
“I think it’s just a phenomenal thing to do and we’re bringing two good horses,” said McDermott. “I asked Tim and Brian, on behalf of Mr. Azur, if they’d make the trip and they said, ‘Tell me where and I’ll be there.’ Mr. Azur is all about people enjoying horse racing. I told him I thought it would be the greatest thing in the world to take these horses to Barton.”
There is no admission charge to the grandstand at Barton. There is a flat fee of $10 to attend the fair, which includes unlimited turns on the ferris wheel, carousel and all rides.
(With files from Harness Racing Communications)