The growth of the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development Program will be on display during the 2019 Indiana Sired Fair Circuit, as large numbers of two year olds take to the track for the first time this month.
The Indiana-Sired Fair Circuit is a series of races at Indiana’s county and State Fair for Indiana sired and bred Standardbred horses. In order to be eligible to compete in these races, horses must be foaled in Indiana and sired by a stallion that stands in the state of Indiana. Races are held for two- and three-year-old pacers and trotters, and horses are nominated by their owners each year they race.
The fair circuit has seen a steady number of two and three year old Indiana-sired and bred horses nominated through the years, but the number of two year old filly pacers jumped nearly 29 per cent for 2019.
The circuit kicked off June 5 and 6 in Converse, with 21 races on Wednesday (including nine divisions of two-year-old filly pacers) and 18 races on Thursday. Throughout the summer, the racehorses compete to earn points from each stop. The top eight in each division are invited to compete for the Indiana State Fair Championships, held during the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis August 6, where the winners take home $20,000 in purse money. The horses ranked ninth through sixteenth will compete earlier in the day in the consolations for purse money totaling $8,000.
All races are open to the public.
“The county fair circuit is what our harness racing history stems from. We love that the product is homegrown and showcased along with each county’s homegrown products each summer,” says Jessica Barnes, director of racing and breed development for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. “Some of these horses will go one to compete successfully at pari-mutuel tracks, and it’s always fun to see them get started on the fair circuit.”
Point standings will be updated after each set of races and posted on the Indiana Horse Racing Commission’s website (in.gov/hrc/2524.htm).
For more information on the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit, reach out to the IHRC at 317-232-2897 or by emailing [email protected].
(With files from the Indiana Horse Racing Commission)