The final stop of the 2021 Pennsylvania Fair circuit, at the Bloomsburg Fair in this northeast Pennsylvania town, had an all-too familiar theme on opening day Friday — the two-year-old racing was washed out. But then the three-year-olds got to go on Saturday, and three of them achieved their 10th victories, most on the circuit.
(We note here that early next week that there will be a release listing the trophy blanket-winners for being top point-winners in their divisions, after figures are checked with the Harness Bureau of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission, the final authority on tallies, so no mention of blanket-winners will appear in this summary of the Bloomsburg racing.)
Todd Schadel was the trainer of all three of the 10-time winners. The Bar Hopping colt Top Me Off finished his fair season undefeated in 10 trips behind the starting gate with a 2:01.3 victory for Todd and Christine Schadel and Rick and Regina Beinhauer. The fastest trotter of all-time at a Pennsylvania fair by virtue of his 1:57.1 win at Gratz, the 2020 Fair Championship winner is now also tied for winningest horse in all of North America with 15 successes.
Terry A Hanover, an Artspeak colt who was also a 2020 Championship winner, posted his seventh magic mile in his 10th fair win, a 2:00 victory, to lead in quantity of speed production on the season. Christine Schadel owns the sturdy colt with Caitlin Solt.
Todd Schadel also drove both of those winners this summer; he entrusted most of the driving of the Cantab Hall filly Cheesy Hanover to his son Cody, and the 19-year-old provisional driver did very nicely in guiding her to the majority of her season-ending 10-race winning streak. Cody’s mother and father own the talented filly, who missed just a nose in her pari-mutuel Sire Stakes consolation and who won at Bloomsburg in 2:03.1.
The sophomore pacing filly race produced the fastest mile of the Bloomsburg meet, 1:59.4, which was posted by the Sweet Lou filly Ginger Tree Liz, who went in 1:59.4 in defeating Tiamogonedancen, a 2020 champion who had the fastest mile of the year at the fairs, a 1:55.2 win at Bedford. Ginger Tree Liz won both of her 2021 fair starts for trainer/driver Sam Beegle, who is part of her ownership with Ginger Tree Ventures, Double D Racing Stable, and Reber-Chasen Stable.
As for the two-year-olds: they lost five chances to race due to weather (the three-year-olds lost two and part of another), and optimistically it can be thought that the freshmen may be that much fresher for the $25,000 Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes Championships, all eight of which are to be raced during a 4:00 p.m. card at The Meadows on Friday, October 8.
The information on the fair point-winners blankets, and other statistics, will be in the release early this coming week.
(Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association, Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, and Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association partnership)