Harness Racing

If you like seeing horses run in circles really fast, the harness racing takes place on Wednesday June 25th at 1 p.m. in the grandstand. The classes that will race will be Trot- 2 yr, Trot- 3 yr, Pace- 2 yr and Pace- 3 yr. There will not be a rain date. Harness racing has a big history at the fair. When looking at Frances Johnston's scrapbooks there were numerous articles about harness racing and it was the main form of entertainment before World War II and also the earliest. During the first fair local farmers brought their horses and would race them. I always catch a glimpse of the practice runs and if I'm lucky sometimes the races. Of course we've all seen horse racing on TV, but I am amazed at the speed of the horses and it is more thrilling in person. This is a great event for the family.
If you are interested in entering, the entry fee is $100 and the maintenance fee is $20. Wood shavings are only to be used instead of straw and entries will be accepted between 7:30 and 10:00 a.m. 72 hours before the race. The stalls will be available on a first come first serve basis and have to be cleaned before leaving the fairgrounds.

Family Fun on a Budget

It's not expensive to attend the Henry County Fair. There are plenty of budget friendly activities to do at this years Henry County Fair, most are free or low cost. Of course all the livestock shows and art hall exhibits are also free and Granpa Cratchet will perform teaching "Safety First" several times every day on the midway.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m. watch the Equestrian Ambassadors Contest held in the Horse arena and then catch the BLEND at 5 p.m. in the MEC Tent.
Wednesday has MIJA Hunter/Jumper Show at 8:30 a.m., Harness Racing at 1 p.m., the Talent Show at 5 p.m. and the BLEND at 8 p.m.
Thursday at 4 p.m. for a 25 cent entry fee you can enter the sunflower seed spitting contest then see the BLEND perform at 8 p.m.
Friday the 4-H Horse show will be at 9 a.m. in the Horse Arena.
Saturday is $1 entry fee for the bags tournament at 11 a.m. and also for the same entry fee is the kids and adult tractor pull at 1 p.m.
Sunday see the motorcycle race, the only entry fee to get into the grandstand that day is a canned good.

All this for a gate admission of $5.00 per person each day. Children ages 8 and under are always free. The thriftiest way to enjoy the fair is by purchasing a week's gate admissions fun pass for $22.00 if purchased before June 9th. Seniors 65 and older can purchase a fun pass for $15.00. These can all be purchased at the fair office by calling 309-937-3391 and at all Bank Orion locations.