GREENVILLE — Shamwow, driven by Arcanum native Kayne Kauffman, captured the $40,000 Gene Riegle Memorial Open Pace on Thursday night, highlighting the final evening of four days of harness racing at the Great Darke County Fair.
A large crowd of racing fans filled the grandstand area for the final card on the fair’s 1-mile track, with the Greenville Municipal Concert Band entertaining spectators between races.
Thursday’s program included three major featured events — the $40,000 Gene Riegle Pace, $40,000 Jim Buchy Trot and $30,000 John Robinson Pace.
The John Robinson Pace was originally scheduled for Wednesday night, but heavy rain forced officials to call the program after six races. The postponed feature was moved to 6 p.m. Thursday, just ahead of the regularly scheduled 6:30 p.m. racing program.
Woodrow Blue Chip, driven by Dan Noble, made the most of the early start by winning the $30,000 John Robinson Pace in 1:52.4 over the 1-mile oval.
Tarapasta finished second in 1:53.1, while Currys Flurry took third in 1:53.3.
Later in the evening, Shamwow delivered the winning performance in the 11th race, capturing the $40,000 Gene Riegle Memorial Open Pace in 1:53.
Shamwow, owned by Jeff Fought Racing of Kentucky, crossed the finish line ahead of Brunout, driven by Austin Hanners for Greg Luther Racing LLC. Brunout finished second in 1:53.2.
Ahhh Back, driven by Ronnie Gillespie, finished third. Ahhh Back is owned by Jody Flommersfeld, Mike Albright and Dave Gamble of Ohio.
The victory added Shamwow and Kauffman to the list of winners of one of the Great Darke County Fair’s premier harness racing events.
The Gene Riegle Memorial honors the legacy of Gene Riegle, whose name has long been associated with harness racing in Darke County.
Thursday night’s card brought the fair’s four-day harness racing schedule to a close, with the three featured races offering a combined $110,000 in purses.
Despite Wednesday night’s weather interruption, racing returned Thursday with the postponed John Robinson Pace followed by the full evening program, giving fans another night of competition on the historic 1-mile fairgrounds track.
Between trips to the starting gate, the Greenville Municipal Concert Band provided another longtime fair tradition, performing for the crowd from the grandstand area as harness racing wrapped up for another year at the Great Darke County Fair.
