Patrons beat the heat in NIOF's derbies

Even with temperatures going above the century mark, the horses and racing fans were back at the track Saturday and Sunday for the second meet of the season at the Gillespie County Fair Grounds.

Twenty-two races were run over the weekend as part of the Night In Old Fredericksburg Race Meet sponsored by the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association.

“The races were great on Saturday and brought in a large crowd,” said Brad Roeder, president of the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association. “Attendance was lower on Sunday due to the heat. Overall, the races on Sunday went great and there were no issues, so that was a plus.”

Over the two-day race meet, 2,830 fans wagered $236,151 on 22 races.

That includes 1,823 fans on Saturday who wagered $147,831 on 12 races and 1,007 fans who wagered $88,320 on 10 races on Sunday.

The payout to bettors totaled $184,680, which included $115,707 on Saturday and $68,973 on Sunday.

The race meet was held in conjunction with the Night In old Fredericksburg celebration on Saturday that included domino and washer pitching tournaments, goat roping, chili and barbecue cook-offs, wiener dog races and musical entertainment by Chris Rybak, followed by Arkey Blue and The Blue Cowboys.

(More on NIOF can be found elsewhere in this issue.)

Among the highlights of the race meet was the 350-yard GCFA July Firecracker Futurity on Saturday. Total purse was $84,250.

With a time of 17.858, “Cadillac Cash,” ridden by Eddie Sanchez, crossed the finish line first.

Coming in second was “Dashing Sweet Brujo,” ridden by Noe Suarez, followed by “Who He Me,” ridden by J. Ramirez in third.

In the qualifying races run on July 8 as part of the July Fourth Race Meet, “Bonita Di Capi” qualified first but finished in fourth in the finals.

“Cadillac Cash” qualified fourth, “Dashing Sweet Brujo” qualified fifth and “Who He Me” qualified seventh.

Saturday’s race program also included trials for the 330-yard GCFA 79 and Under Speed Index Sprint.

Purse for the race is $17,500.

Qualifiers (with their times in parenthesis) included “Stoli Spirit” (17.4010), “KK Perrys Policy (17.4165), “Easy Lovin Dokie” (17.4570), “My First Real Cartel” (17.5590), “Dashel” (17.5690), “Illusive Corona” (17.6055), “Im One Lucky Man” (17.6405), “First Panda Cartel” (17.8250) and “Wizardys Victory” (17.8975).

Highlighting Sunday’s race program was the 350-yard GCFA July Maiden Classic with a total purse of $48,300.

With a time of 17.698, “Thebunnygoeson,” ridden by Noe Villatoro, finished first.

Coming in second was “Tinys Desi,” ridden by Jesse Levario, followed by “Di Southeen James,” ridden by Jose Martinez, in third.

In the qualifying races run on July 7, “Thebunnygoeson” qualified sixth, “Tinys Desi” qualified ninth and “Di Southeen James” qualified first.

Also on Sunday, trials were run for the 330-yard GCFA 79 and Under Speed Index Futurity.

Qualifiers include “Jet Black Streak” (16.9000), “One Game Cat” (16.9900), “Roamantic Chicks” (17.0160), “Send Candy and Pop” (17.0515), “Jess too Pretty” (17.0700), “Flooded Heartland” (17.0740), “El Finito Tee” (17.0925), “Jessie B Tuff” (17.1300), “Iam Pascual Cartel” (17.1340) and “Second Amendment” (17.1465).

Finals for both the GCFA 79 and Under Speed Index Futurity and the GCFA 79 and Under Speed Index Sprint will be run during the Gillespie County Race Meet Aug. 11-12.

After the Gillespie County Race Meet, the season concludes with two days of racing on Aug. 25-26 as part of the 130th Gillespie County Fair.

The 130th Gillespie County Fair will be held Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 23-26. A concert and dance featuring Jake Hooker and The Outsiders will take place on Friday, Aug. 24.

Highlighting the entertainment on Saturday, Aug. 25, will be special guest star Steve Wariner, followed by Cory Morrow.

The fair will also include a parade, carnival and midway, agriculture and home products displays, livestock shows and more.

Professional bull riding returns to the Gillespie County Fair Grounds with the Fredericksburg PBR on Saturday, Sept. 8.

Rounding out the season will be the 22nd Annual Scholarship Fest on Saturday, Sept. 22.

For more information, visit www.gillespiefair.net, call 830-997-2359 or email info@gillespiefair.com.