“Considering that this track was three to four feet underwater about three weeks ago, the horsemen can’t say enough to praise John Brokenshire and his crew at Bloomsburg for the outstanding job that has been done here.”
That was said by Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association president Sam Beegle after the Bloomsburg (Pa.) Fair racetrack and attendant areas had been worked back into masterful shape by Brokenshire, only in his second year in charge of the racing at Bloomsburg, and his co-workers, producing three track records and five sub-2:00 miles during the two-day Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes meet at the fairgrounds on Monday (Sept. 3) and Tuesday (Sept. 4).
The Dave Brickell stable, with Brickell as trainer-driver and co-owner with Mitchell York, produced two outstanding performances of the meet. The first came during Monday's card for two-year-olds, when Well Said-Chantal Hall pacing miss Crew Sock Hanover toured the Bloomsburg oval in 1:58 – the fastest time ever produced by a two-year-old pacing filly at any Pennsylvania fair. Crew Sock Hanover is now undefeated in eight fair outings and victorious nine times overall.
Venier Hanover, who as a freshman set eight track records while the dominant force on the Keystone fair circuit, started off slowly this year but recently has been ablaze, taking his sixth straight start, in 1:55.1, reducing Alastor Hanover’s 2006 local standard for three-year-old pacing colts of 1:56.4 dramatically.
The third track record notched at the Bloomsburg fairgrounds came from the Muscle Massive–Missing Dough two-year-old trotting filly Touch Of Dough, who reduced her mark by six full seconds to 2:01, a time also a fifth quicker than the 2006 local performance of Shesfastandfurious. Touch Of Dough has now won five of her last six starts for driver Eric Neal, trainer Randy Neal, and Beal Racing Stable LLC.
The fastest trotting mile of the meet overall came from the Donato Hanover sophomore gelding Show Me The Magic, a four-time fair winner who completed the mile in 2:00.1 for driver Tony Schadel and trainer-owner Bruce Schadel.
Todd Schadel and Roger Hammer each drove four winners during the two-day stand to tie atop the Bloomsburg driver standings; Schadel sent out five winners from his barn to lead all trainers.
(Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen's Association)