The 169th Van Wert County Fair kicked off on Tuesday. Gates opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday with people heading to the fairgrounds for their favorite food, games and activities.
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OTTAWA, OH (WLIO) - It's the last Putnam County Fair before the grandstands are remodeled, and on Wednesday, audiences sat under its shade to …
A big Allen County Fair tradition returns Monday evening at the Grandstands. The Dunlap-Renner Memorial Pace Harness Race was held at the Grandstands Monday evening.
It was a lot of work to get the fairgrounds ready for the 2022 fair because the storms the week before left a mess for the fair board to clean up. But their hard work has paid off because the fair is up and running and ready for a lot of people to enjoy the fun, food, and 4H that everybody expects in Putnam County.
Fair officials say there were 97 entries for the races which is almost double last year's numbers. It was a two-day event at the fair. Fans follow their favorite horses around the area for support and to cheer them on along the way. Although the harness races wrapped up Wednesday night, the demolition derby and bull riding will take over the fair on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Brendan Johnson was involved in a three-horse accident during the 11th race of the evening. According to the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association executive director, Johnson's horse traveled slightly sideways and fell which caused the accident. One of the other drivers involved was treated and released from the hospital, the other was treated at the track and raced later Tuesday night. All three horses escaped serious injuries but had scrapes and contusions.
The Putnam County Fair is in full swing this week, and while many events were cut from the schedule, the popular harness racing events are not.
On Saturday harness racing continued at the Allen County Fair.
Over 70 horses raced on the track right outside the Allen County fairgrounds grandstand.
Harness racing is a fair favorite in Mercer County. Although it hasn’t always been a sport, it’s one that attracts a lot of people because of how close they can get to the action. “Harness racing originally was developed as folks racing to church, if you will, and [evolved] into an actual sport,” said Paul Sunderhaus, a member of the Speed Committee. “For here in Mercer County, a lot of us are generations of horsemen. It’s something that’s conducted on a half-mile race track so it’s easy to watch up close."
