The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
FIGHTING FOR FIRST
Harness racing adds traditional thrill to 174th annual fair agenda at the main grandstands
The swirl of dust and thunder of hooves drew people to the grandstand at the Lorain County Fair on Aug. 20 like moths to the flame.
With dreams of hitting it big in their hearts and bet slips gripped tightly in their fists, hundreds of spectators watched the second day of Home Talents Colt Stakes Harness Racing.
Unlike what one might see at the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness or Belmont Stakes or even the Breeder’s Cup, the horses in these races maintain a specific gait, or pace, and pull twowheeled carts called a sulky which the jockey rides on.
Fair Board President Ron Pickworth said the races have been a key part of the County Fair since the beginning.
“Harness racing is a longtime tradition in the fair circuit. That was the motorsports of the early days.”
— Fair Board President Ron Pickworth
“Harness racing is a longtime tradition in the fair circuit,” Pickworth said. “That was the motorsports of the early days.”
The races embody a core component of what has made county fairs popular, he said.
“Fairs are all about competitions, you know; who has the best life,” Pickworth said. “Whether it’s cow, horse, chicken, you name it and obviously, harness racing was part of that. Who has the fastest horse?”
Thom Pye, of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association, said that because of the specific gait needed in harness racing, some horses not built for the Kentucky Derby style can really shine at a county fair harness race.
The style of betting used for these races, paramutual betting, was created in 1877 in France by a Spanish bookie, Pye said.
Horse racing, he said, used to be the only American sport.
“Back in the 1830s, 1840s, right up until the 1960s,” Pye said.
Sue Rhodes, 59, of Wellington, was one of the hopeful betters watching the ponies dash.
Rhodes said she had won some cash during the Aug. 19 races.
“Yesterday, we actually came out winning,” she said. “Not a lot, but we actually won.”
Rhodes said that she attends the county fair every year and has a lot of fun.
When asked her strategy for picking a winner, she said it’s all about the name.
“The cool name,” Rhodes said. “I associate it with my life.
“If it has something to do with my life, I bet on that horse.”