Harness race yields fastest finish, fattest purse at fair

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

CANFIELD

It was a day for records at the Canfield Fair racetrack Saturday.

Midnight Dragon, winner of a mile-long harness pacing race, tied the track record with a time of 1 minute, 56.4 seconds.

Midnight Dragon’s time is tied with others recorded in 1993 and 2013. All other winning times logged Saturday were above 2 minutes.

Another record set Saturday was for the largest purse at the Canfield Fair: $45,900.

That’s thanks to contributions from racinos, fair racing officials say. Other contributions to purses come from the fair and the state racing commission.

That’s not all the money that was spent on Saturday’s races: spectators bet roughly $12,000, which officials say is about average for this round of races.

They expect bets and purses to be higher during Monday’s round of harness racing, which begins at 2 p.m.

All in all, Saturday’s harness racing – in which a driver sits on a cart attached to the horse, which either trots or paces – was a success, officials say.

“It’s been wonderful. Track conditions are great,” said Craig Myers, president of the fair board and also in charge of harness racing.

He said the dry weather was good for racing.

“It’s very consistent, and that’s what the racers like,” he said.

It was a “perfect day for racing,” said Elwood Woolman, speed superintendent for the fair.

Despite the sweltering heat, which on Saturday intensified under the beating sun, plenty of spectators lined the grandstand seats and fences along the racetrack as the booming voice of an announcer resonated throughout the arena.

Patty and Rich Hanley, a brother-sister duo from North Jackson, were at the grandstand to see the races.

For them, the event is a family tradition. They used to come with their mother, and have been coming for the last 10 to 15 years, they said.

They come “just for the fun of it,” said Rich, and “just to see the horses come in,” Patty added.

It’s their favorite Canfield Fair attraction, they said. Patty recalled one memorable year in which she won $800.

“That was thrilling – because you don’t expect to win that kind of money here,” she said.

Other winners in the 13 races that took place Saturday were: SR Beach Babe, Two Days Finale, Dash of Grace, Scootin Majesty, Kandy Krisp, Lightning Dunn, Theta Blue Chip, Calling a Victory, Bend In the River, Caviar Cruiser, Shezuptosumthin and Tt’sshutterbug.