The adrenaline rush of harness racing on the Pennsylvania Fair Circuit is just around the corner! Summer weather and county fairs go hand-in-hand, and soon the intoxicating aroma of funnel cakes and french fries, and the cries of delight from the children on the thrill rides will blend in with the hoofbeats thundering around the tracks.
Fair racing gets underway June 25th at the Butler Fairgrounds in western Pennsylvania with a two day event, and culminates with the Fair Final on October 13 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
“We have 19 stops with the fairs and the two-day events this year,” explained Lisa Dunn, President of the PA Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association (PFHHA) and the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association (MSOA). “This year, we kind of switched the schedule around, because the final is generally the second week of October, but because of the way the calendar was, and Bloomsburg is kind of earlier in September, there’s actually the 2 two-day events after Bloomsburg. Bloomsburg used to always be the final stop, but this year, there’s a two-day event at Crawford County and one at Dayton after Bloomsburg.”
Families enjoying all the sights and sounds of county fairs witness the excitement of harness racing as they stroll the midway, and often, become intrigued by the sight, returning to watch the racing year after year as a new fan of the sport. The horsemen welcome the attention of the ‘new’ fans, particularly the children. “I think, in general, the Fair horsemen tend to be pretty low key and go out of their way, if kids are walking through, they’ll take the time to let them pet the horse, and they try to make it a positive experience,” Lisa said.
Fair racing boasts many of harness racing’s well-known drivers, with many of the next generation drivers in the bike, side-by-side with the seasoned veterans in extremely competitive races. Throughout the events, the regular younger generation drivers such as Aaron and Shawn Johnston, Eric Neal, and Brady Brown, along with the rookie ‘young guns’ of the business, Cody Schadel, Jesse Barnard, Justin Walters and Steven Fedokovitz, find themselves behind the gate with veteran horsemen David Brickell, Sam Beegle, Roger Hammer, David Wiest, Tony Schadel, and Todd Schadel, just to name a few.
“They (young drivers) definitely get an education out there,” Lisa laughed. “The young horses get educated as do the drivers. It’s good for both! They get an opportunity, because generally it’s smaller field sizes, so there’s a little room for error, but everyone gets an education! We have a few newer drivers too, like Jesse Barnard and Justin Walters. Cody Schadel gets to drive a few when he manages to wrestle the lines from his dad’s (Todd) hands, or if their operation has two in the race! It’s definitely a family affair! Everybody is either related now, or used to be married to someone. Definitely a family affair.”
It’s such a family business that an entire family can be either a driver, a groom, or performing other duties, like Linda and Tony Schadel’s daughter Lizzie, who helps in the barn and has stepped behind the microphone many times to lead the racing with the National Anthem. “James (son of Linda and Tony) Schadel gets in the Starting Gate sometimes and helps us, to either pick up numbers, or to go around and pick up the saddle pads after the races.”
“I think the kids learn a good work ethic being out there too,” she added. “At the parimutuel tracks, some of the younger kids don’t get as big an opportunity because, obviously, safety issues. The way the fairs are set up, the kids can have a little better access.”
The rainy weather has become a nuisance to many, and to the fair harness tracks, it can pose a problem, but each track is prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws their way. “Generally, the rain is a 24-48 hour thing,” Lisa explained. “Rain now isn’t going to affect us. If it’s raining the morning of the races, or all day the day before, that’s generally when the surface gets overwhelmed.”
“Some tracks can take more, like Gratz. Gratz can take a lot of rain. Their surface is such that we race in the rain there. That’s a track that they train on all year too, so it probably has more material just because it’s a track that gets used every day. Some of them we come in, we race a couple days, and there aren’t horses on it the rest of the year.”
For the fans that may miss some of the fair racing action, they are planning to live stream the races once again. Lisa raves about the streaming that is spearheaded by Seth Dowling. “Seth is wonderful with his setup, with his graphics and everything. They’re as good as the parimutuel tracks!” Live streaming of the races can be found on the PFHHA TV Facebook page.
“Because the fair racing is during the day, a lot of the owners don’t have the opportunity to go out and watch. Sometimes we race on the same days as the parimutuel tracks, so someone goes to the fair, and someone goes to the track. They end up watching the races on the live stream in the paddock.”
With 19 different stops and 15 tracks, the list of eligibles filled up quickly! “Overall, total horses nominated and sustained in 2024 was 519,” Lisa said. “In 2025, it was 531, so we are showing a slight increase which is positive!”
From Butler to Bloomsburg, and everywhere in between, the fair racing season is a hectic one, but the horsemen are ready! I think everyone is anxious for it to start, and by the end of summer, everyone is pretty spent,” she laughed. “People and horses.”
PA FAIR HARNESS HORSEMEN ASSOCIATION – PA FAIR HARNESS HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION
