By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
DAYTON PA – The Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes Circuit made its last stop of 2025 this past weekend at the Dayton Fairgrounds, about 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, where the final pointstandings champions were settled, and more importantly for many, which eight horses per division are in control of their own points destiny for their $25,000 divisional Championship, to be held Monday, October 13 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
Some of those already assured of a Championship spot “dropped down” at Dayton to “B” level action (for which no points are given) to maintain sharpness. All pointstandings are under the control of the Harness Bureau of the State Horse Racing Commission, so check with them if any eligibility is in question.
Most of the season among the PA Fairs’ three-year-olds, the attention has been on 2024 Championship winners Lionheart Hanover, a trotting gelding, and Milagro, a pacing filly, and indeed they were the leaders in fair victories with 13 and 12, respectively, as well as points champions. But another 2024 Fair Champion has stepped up in a really big way at the end of the campaign – the pacing gelding Sweet Parlay, a son of Sweet Lou trained by Richard Dunn and co-owned by him with MBC Stables LLC.
Before last week’s fair stop at Meadville, Sweet Parlay had started only four times all year at the fairs, and had won none of them. But guided by Chris Shaw the last two weeks, Sweet Parlay first rewrote the all-age track record at Meadville to 1:57.4, and then here at Dayton on Sunday he came back to post a 1:57.2 triumph, which equaled Nome Hanover’s 2020 all-time local mark. He now has the required points and starts, and appears one of the horses to beat in his division, though Bettor Up had long clinched the group’s point crown.
Another sub-2:00 Dayton winner, Happy Hours Blues (by Heston Blue Chip, trainer-driver Aaron Johnston, 1:59.4), is sitting very near the “A” points cutoff line (even though his Dayton triumph was in a “B” event), so he and his connections may be very interested to see the entries when the Fair Championships are drawn at Pocono this coming Tuesday (October 7).
Lionheart Hanover (who by the way could be only the second horse in Fair history to do the “double-double,” points and Championship at two and three) and Milagro are both in at Pocono early this coming week, prepping for the Championships, which gave other horses a better chance to grab some limelight.
In Milagro’s group, the Heston Blue Chip filly Shesinqredible Deo got herself on firmer finale footing with a 2:00 win for driver Eric Neal and trainer Mitchell York, co-owner with Erin York. The fastest trotter at Dayton (for the year, it was Lionheart Hanover) was another female, the International Moni miss Kind Of Likecash, who came up raw to win in 2:02.1 for driver Chris Shaw, trainer Ashley Brown, and the partnership of Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw. (The latter filly’s points group leader, 11-time winner Tally The Tab, sat out this week.)
The two-year-olds got the Dayton action started Saturday, with both groups of fillies the only ones who had not yet determined their leading pointwinner. Among the pacers, the Sweet Lou – Takana Rose filly Vegas Queen clinched receiving the special cooler “done up” in the stable colors when she defeated the only horse who could catch her, second finisher Beachy’s Mistress, for driver David Brickell, trainer Neil Balcerak, and owner George Prushnok. Both fillies led all pacing freshmen with eight “A” PA stakes wins.
Both trotting groups had nine-time “A” winners. Reaching nine, the last seven in succession, was the Father Patrick – Tymal Lux filly PA Patricia, who clinched her title before she won at Dayton because her only mathematical rival did not declare in. Pa Patricia was driven by Chris Shaw for Team Kind Of Likecash, mentioned earlier, trainer Ashley Brown and owners Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw.
The male counterpart of Pa Patricia, who set a Dayton track record, wasn’t the one who won that blanket chase. Nose Jammer (an International Moni – By A Nose Hanover gelding) won his ninth “A” start, the last eight in a row, and lowered Gee Whiz George’s 2016 local mark by two ticks with a 2:04 score for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, co-owner with Christine Schadel. But the ultra-consistent Fordham Road – Keystone Wonder gelding RT Wonder Colt, who won the race after Nose Jammer’s, was top of that division with a 16-6-8-2 scorecard.
The pacing colt freshman blanket was won by Party Rock Hanover, the season’s fastest freshman at 1:57, who did not race at Dayton. The single freshman “A” pacing colt heat at Dayton was the fastest two-year-old mile, 2:03.1, by the Captain Crunch – Pretty Proud gelding Ima Proud Captain, driven by Todd Schadel for trainer Norm Parker and owners Barbara Richardson and Rich Gillock.
Eric Neal and Chris Shaw tied for Dayton driving honors with five victories, one more than Aaron Johnston and Todd Schadel. Aaron sent out four winners to head the trainers category, one more than Joyce Lineweaver and Todd Schadel.
Remarkably, there was only one card missed due to bad weather in the forty racing days on the 2025 PA Fair Circuit: the two-year-olds at Bedford. Now the fair horsemen of Pennsylvania hope that the metaphorical sun shines on them for one more day – Monday, October 13, the PA Fair Championships day, with $200,000 in purses on the line.
DAYTON PA – The Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes Circuit made its last stop of 2025 this past weekend at the Dayton Fairgrounds, about 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, where the final pointstandings champions were settled, and more importantly for many, which eight horses per division are in control of their own points destiny for their $25,000 divisional Championship, to be held Monday, October 13 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
Some of those already assured of a Championship spot “dropped down” at Dayton to “B” level action (for which no points are given) to maintain sharpness. All pointstandings are under the control of the Harness Bureau of the State Horse Racing Commission, so check with them if any eligibility is in question.
Most of the season among the PA Fairs’ three-year-olds, the attention has been on 2024 Championship winners Lionheart Hanover, a trotting gelding, and Milagro, a pacing filly, and indeed they were the leaders in fair victories with 13 and 12, respectively, as well as points champions. But another 2024 Fair Champion has stepped up in a really big way at the end of the campaign – the pacing gelding Sweet Parlay, a son of Sweet Lou trained by Richard Dunn and co-owned by him with MBC Stables LLC.
Before last week’s fair stop at Meadville, Sweet Parlay had started only four times all year at the fairs, and had won none of them. But guided by Chris Shaw the last two weeks, Sweet Parlay first rewrote the all-age track record at Meadville to 1:57.4, and then here at Dayton on Sunday he came back to post a 1:57.2 triumph, which equaled Nome Hanover’s 2020 all-time local mark. He now has the required points and starts, and appears one of the horses to beat in his division, though Bettor Up had long clinched the group’s point crown.
Another sub-2:00 Dayton winner, Happy Hours Blues (by Heston Blue Chip, trainer-driver Aaron Johnston, 1:59.4), is sitting very near the “A” points cutoff line (even though his Dayton triumph was in a “B” event), so he and his connections may be very interested to see the entries when the Fair Championships are drawn at Pocono this coming Tuesday (October 7).
Lionheart Hanover (who by the way could be only the second horse in Fair history to do the “double-double,” points and Championship at two and three) and Milagro are both in at Pocono early this coming week, prepping for the Championships, which gave other horses a better chance to grab some limelight.
In Milagro’s group, the Heston Blue Chip filly Shesinqredible Deo got herself on firmer finale footing with a 2:00 win for driver Eric Neal and trainer Mitchell York, co-owner with Erin York. The fastest trotter at Dayton (for the year, it was Lionheart Hanover) was another female, the International Moni miss Kind Of Likecash, who came up raw to win in 2:02.1 for driver Chris Shaw, trainer Ashley Brown, and the partnership of Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw. (The latter filly’s points group leader, 11-time winner Tally The Tab, sat out this week.)
The two-year-olds got the Dayton action started Saturday, with both groups of fillies the only ones who had not yet determined their leading pointwinner. Among the pacers, the Sweet Lou – Takana Rose filly Vegas Queen clinched receiving the special cooler “done up” in the stable colors when she defeated the only horse who could catch her, second finisher Beachy’s Mistress, for driver David Brickell, trainer Neil Balcerak, and owner George Prushnok. Both fillies led all pacing freshmen with eight “A” PA stakes wins.
Both trotting groups had nine-time “A” winners. Reaching nine, the last seven in succession, was the Father Patrick – Tymal Lux filly PA Patricia, who clinched her title before she won at Dayton because her only mathematical rival did not declare in. Pa Patricia was driven by Chris Shaw for Team Kind Of Likecash, mentioned earlier, trainer Ashley Brown and owners Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw.
The male counterpart of Pa Patricia, who set a Dayton track record, wasn’t the one who won that blanket chase. Nose Jammer (an International Moni – By A Nose Hanover gelding) won his ninth “A” start, the last eight in a row, and lowered Gee Whiz George’s 2016 local mark by two ticks with a 2:04 score for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, co-owner with Christine Schadel. But the ultra-consistent Fordham Road – Keystone Wonder gelding RT Wonder Colt, who won the race after Nose Jammer’s, was top of that division with a 16-6-8-2 scorecard.
The pacing colt freshman blanket was won by Party Rock Hanover, the season’s fastest freshman at 1:57, who did not race at Dayton. The single freshman “A” pacing colt heat at Dayton was the fastest two-year-old mile, 2:03.1, by the Captain Crunch – Pretty Proud gelding Ima Proud Captain, driven by Todd Schadel for trainer Norm Parker and owners Barbara Richardson and Rich Gillock.
Eric Neal and Chris Shaw tied for Dayton driving honors with five victories, one more than Aaron Johnston and Todd Schadel. Aaron sent out four winners to head the trainers category, one more than Joyce Lineweaver and Todd Schadel.
Remarkably, there was only one card missed due to bad weather in the forty racing days on the 2025 PA Fair Circuit: the two-year-olds at Bedford. Now the fair horsemen of Pennsylvania hope that the metaphorical sun shines on them for one more day – Monday, October 13, the PA Fair Championships day, with $200,000 in purses on the line.
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