The 2003 Wayne County Fair will showcase the many driving colors adorned by local harness horse trainers based at the fairgrounds. The Fair kicked off on Saturday, September 6 and once again the Fair offers three exciting days of harness racing with Home Talent Colt Stakes on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by Fair Board sponsored races on Thursday. Wooster, is the 14th stop out of 17 fairs on the Home Talent Colt Stakes racing circuit. The racing circuit started at Marion in late June and traveled to Hilliard, Carrollton, Bucyrus, Mt. Vernon, Medina, Lisbon, Mansfield, Jefferson, Croton, Wellington, and Canton, before coming to Wooster. After Wooster it’s on to Ashland, Dover, and then the Stakes circuit ends at the Coshocton County Fair in late September.
Year round there are approximately 15 United States Trotting Association licensed trainers preparing Standardbred racehorses at the Wayne County fairgrounds for racing at any of the four Ohio pari-mutuel racetracks and the many Fair Stakes racing opportunities that exist in Ohio. These trainers have any where from one or two horses in training to a full stable of twenty horses or more. Many of the local trainers will be entering horses to race during the Fair:
Henry Beachy, a Wooster resident, has been training racehorses for 16
years and is also licensed to drive at pari-mutuel racetracks. His
racing colors are green and purple. The Beachy stable has had 74 starts
this year with 6 winners, 10 seconds, and 9 thirds, the horses
accumulating $17,652 in earnings so far this year.
Tom Brinkerhoff, another Wooster resident, has been training racehorses
for 48 years and is also licensed to drive at pari-mutuel tracks. Tom’s
colors are blue and gold. The Brinkerhoff stable has had 32 starts with
4 wins, 1 second, and 8 thirds, earning $9,763. His leading money
winning horse is SANDY CROWN, a 3 year old colt trotter with earnings of
$5,194 this year. However, he’ll bring his two year old colt pacer,
PERFECT APPROACH, to Wooster on Tuesday to compete in the fourteenth
race.
John Catrone, an Orrville resident, has only had his public trainers
license for 10 years but has been involved with Standardbred horses for
over 30 years, with help from his brothers: Nick, Mike, and Don. John’s
colors are red and yellow. The Catrone stable has had 23 starts with 9
wins, 3 seconds, and 4 thirds, their horses earning $34,166. John’s
leading money winning horse is FINAL SCORPION, a two year old colt
trotter with earnings of $23,085 this year. He is entered to race on
Tuesday in the sixth race. On Wednesday the Catrone stable will start a
couple of two year old filly trotters: STRIKING LINDA in the ninth race
and STRIKING CHIC in race twelve.
Pat Clark, a West Salem resident, has been training racehorses for 16
years. Pat’s colors are blue, gold, and red. The Clark stable has had
29 starts with 2 wins, 2 seconds, and 7 thirds, the horses earning
$4,688. His leading money winning horse is OK NO BULL DEBBIE, a two
year old filly pacer with earnings of $1,979 this year. Look for stablemate CD BAD BOY in the third race on Thursday.
Gary Hites, a Wooster resident, has been training racehorses for 24
years wearing the colors of blue and gold. The Hites stable has had 38
starts with 5 wins, 10 seconds, and 8 thirds, earning $12,536. His
leading money winning horse is IRISH JAKE, a three year old gelding
trotter with earnings of $5,760 this year. He starts in the seventeenth race on Thursday. Meanwhile MR STAR can be seen in the second race, and stablemate REO LYNDA starts in the third race on Thursday.
Dee Hotton, another Wooster resident, has been training racehorses for
25 years and she is licensed to drive at pari-mutuel tracks. Her colors
are red, white, and yellow. The Hotton stable has had 47 starts with 8
wins, 6 seconds, and 10 thirds, with accumulated earnings of $57,730.
Her leading money winning horse is GLORY BOUND, a five year old gelding
trotter with earnings of $40,710 so far this year. Dee has entered
another horse from her stable: STERLING SPUR, a three year old colt
trotter with over $13,000 in earnings in Wednesday’s eleventh race.
Sandy Landfair, a Millersburg resident, has only been licensed to train
racehorses for 3 years but has been involved with horses with his
father, Don, for many years. Sandy carries on the family colors of
blue, white, and gold. The Landfair stable has had 32 starts with 2
wins, 1 second, and 2 thirds, earning $7,598. His leading money winning
horse is ICE SKATES, a 4 year old trotting gelding who has earned $5,930
this year.
Dan Miller, a Wooster resident, has been training racehorses for 16
years and is licensed to drive at pari-mutuel tracks. He wears the
colors of blue and tan. Dan’s stable has had 15 starts with 3 wins, 4
seconds, and 1 third, the horses accumulating $5,868 in earnings. His
leading money winning horse is HELLO SPEEDY, a three year old colt
trotter with earnings of $4,300 this year. See him in Wednesday’s
eleventh race. Dan will also start the horse SINGLE BUBBA on Thursday in race twelve.
Ralph Miller, a Wooster resident and Dan Miller’s father, has been
training racehorses for 20 years. His horse SOLAR LASER, a four year
old trotting horse, has had 4 starts with 1 win, and 1 second, earning
$833. Ralph also wears the colors of blue and tan and will race his horse on Thursday in race thirteen.
Tony Raber, a Strasburg resident, has been training racehorses for 40
years and holds the distinction of being the fairgrounds oldest active
trainer at 73 years old. He still jogs, and trains all the horses
himself and wears the colors of white, orange, and black. The Raber
stable has had 20 starts with 1 win, 2 seconds, and 2 thirds, earning
$3,959. His leading money winning horse is STRIKING LIGHTING, a four
year old trotting mare with earnings of $2,115 this year. She will race on Thursday in the last race. Tony has also entered his two year colt trotter, BOLD, in Tuesday’s second race.
Ernie Smith, an Ashland resident, has been training racehorses for 3
years and wears the colors of white, blue, and orange. The Smith stable
has had 25 starts, 3 wins, 6 seconds, and 6 thirds, with earnings of
$9,666. His leading money winning horse is KISS THE QUEEN, a four year
old pacing mare with earnings of $5,840. He has entered the horse MY
SHELLY AMORE in Tuesday’s eleventh race.
Sharry Starner, a Wooster resident, has been training racehorses for 15
years. She wears the colors of blue, white, and maroon. The Starner
stable has had 36 starts with 3 wins, 3 seconds, and 8 thirds, the
horses accumulating $16,075 in earnings. Her leading money winning
horse is DEAD HEAT PETE, a two year old trotting colt with earnings of
$5,233 this year. She has entered the horses DIATEN, another two year
colt trotter, in Tuesday’s tenth race and a three year old colt pacer
named HAPPY TOOTER in Wednesday’s eighth race.
Kurt Sugg, splits his residency between De Bary, Florida and Wooster,
Ohio. He has been training racehorses for 19 years and is also licensed
to drive at pari-mutuel tracks. Kurt wears the colors of green and
silver. The Sugg stable has pounded the pavement with 169 starts
revealing 32 wins, 30 seconds, and 24 thirds, accumulating $365,409 in
earnings. His leading money winning horse is the two year old pacing
filly, PRINCESS JUSTICE, who has earnings of $152,421 this year. Sugg
has entered five horses to race on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and two on Thursday. Look for the horses IMPERIAL SAHBRA, DYNAMO SAHBRA, MIGHTY DOUBLE DEE, QUEEN OF STRIKES, and ICHIRO on Tuesday in races 3, 5, 6, 13, 14 respectively.
Then see NORSE COMER, OVER THE WIRE, and PERFECT HUSLER on Wednesday in
races 1, 3, and 9.
Followed by TOMMY D and DUNKSTER on Thursday in races 3 and 6.
Ron Wagner, a Wooster resident, has been training racehorses so long the
USTA lost count of the years, but they say it’s over 40 years. Ron
wears the colors of blue, orange, and white and is licensed to drive at
pari-mutuel tracks. The Wagner stable has had 32 starts with 5 wins, 3
seconds, and 7 thirds, earning $11,596. His leading money winning horse
is M-TWENTYTWO, a four year old gelding trotter with earnings of $4,409
this year. You can see him on the track Thursday in race seventeen. Wagner has also entered his trainee I’M CHASER, a three year old colt trotter, to race in Wednesday’s third race.
Jon G. Wengerd, a Wooster resident, has been licensed to train horses
for 8 years and is also licensed to drive at pari-mutuel tracks. He
wears the colors of blue, yellow, and black. Wengerd has wore out the
tires on his truck and trailer by going for 274 starts netting 28 wins,
24 seconds, and 36 thirds, accumulating $95,756 in earnings. His
leading money winning horse is INCREDIBLY FAST, a five year old gelding
trotter who has earned $30,800 so far this year. See the fast one on Thursday in the Doc Mairs Memorial Trot, race fifteen. Look for his three
year old colt trotter, JESSE COY, in Wednesday’s third race. The
gelding JESSE COY is truly a Wayne County horse as he was bred and
foaled at a local farm owned by North Central Local Schools
superintendent Larry Acker. Wengerd will also race the following horses on Thursday: ALEXANDER F, THE WEDDINGS OVER, KNOTEWORTHY WOLF, and BOSTON BLAZE. Races 3, 8, 12, and 17 respectively.
Harness racing at the Wayne County Fair has been a long standing
tradition dating all the way back to the late 1890’s and the local
trainers will proudly carry on that tradition.
The racehorse barns are located in the northwest corner of the Wayne County fairgrounds
Barn numbers 20-23. They will be filled to capacity on Tuesday, Wednesday,
and Thursday afternoon. Take a walk through the racehorse barns, see
all the racing colors, and try your luck at picking a winner.
-- All statistics were courtesy of the USTA and are good thru 8/26/03.