The Shenandoah valley was graced with another beautiful day of weather for racing at the 2014 Shenandoah County Fair.
It was a big day for trainer/driver Betsy Brown, who won two races on the day, and driver William Carter, who gained more traction on his lead winning three races on the day. Carter leads Brown by three races for the driving title this season going into the final 10 race program.
Stylish Image was the one to watch in the first heat as he went right to the lead in the first quarter. After setting some pretty honest fractions, Sun Chimes and Brown attempted a move on the far turn and just couldn't catch the game Stylish Image in 2:06. In the second heat, Sun Chimes got his revenge as he went to the lead from post two. After securing the lead Stylish Image had to do some chasing, but just couldn't get there in the end in 2:05.4.
In the second race of the day, Mr Express cruised home to victory for trainer Leon Harris only to get caught by DVC Justlikemagic in the final strides of the second heat in race five. Alvin Lineweaver had an absolutely perfect trip and made the right moves in the second heat.
In the third race, Calcutta showed why she was as good as she was even after being parked most of the mile. Trained by Brown, she tipped Calcutta outside for a shot at the lead early on then yielded, but then at the head of the lane came flying late to just get up in front of Xiao Wang. In race six, Xiao Wang and Billy Carter came flying late and in the final sixteenth of a mile cruised by Calcutta for the victory in 2:03.2 just missing the track record.
The final day of the 2014 racing season concludes on Saturday with a 10-race program and features the race for the driving title. Carter has eight drives and Brown has four, which will make for a very fun and exciting closing day at the fair.
For more information visit shencofair.com or call the race office.
(Shenandoah County Fair)