Published on May 30, 2025 5:29 am
Last Updated on May 30, 2025 5:33 am
The first week of Illinois county fair harness racing for 2025 is in the books, and stables from Effingham County have already scored five victories.
Trixies Sugar Baby got things started by winning the Illinois Standardbred Association three-year-old filly trot at the Martinsville Agricultural Fair on Sunday (May 25), trotting a mile in 2:06.4 for owner-trainer-driver Darla Martin Lohman of Effingham. Chuck Doehring of Brownstown also owns an interest in the filly, which led all the way to win by a margin of nearly seven lengths.
Lohman returned on Monday at Martinsville to capture one of the crown jewels of the Illinois fair circuit, training and driving Bettingonyou to a win in the 75th anniversary edition of the Great Midwest Trot. Owned by Larry Longnecker of Sumner, the three-year-old trotting filly went wire-to-wire in a lifetime best of 2:06.
Also on Monday, Lohman won the Topline Stakes for trotters age three and older, as Fireballs Pride went the distance in 2:06 for the 12th win of his career. Owned by Lohman and Doehring, the four-year-old gelding has won over $70,000 lifetime.
At the Greene County Fair in Carrollton Wednesday evening, Altamont’s Bart Seales sent three horses to the post, and all three came home winners. Variant and Fox Valley Barbie swept both divisions of the ISA two-year-old filly pace, while Truly A Winner won her division of the ISA event for sophomore filly pacers.
Seales’s sister Penny White of Altamont also owns an interest in Fox Valley Barbie, which represents her initial venture as a racehorse owner.
Horses owned by Jackson Loy and Kandi Herzog of Beecher City, as well as Jacob Roedl of Edgewood, have also scored top-three finishes during the first week of fair season.
The racing circuit moves next to the Macoupin County Fair at Carlinville on June 3, as well as the Macon County Fair at Decatur on June 4 and 7.