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Jason Brewer drives My Kinda Chip to the win in the fourth annual Gene
Riegle Memorial at the Darke County
Fair Friday. Brewer and Chip set a
new track record in the mile pace, doing it in 1:52.4. The time shaved
3/5's of a
second off the old record set a year ago by Easy Again. CNO
Photos by Dylan Knoop
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Another Riegle
Memorial sees another record set
Easy Again repeats in the Three Diamonds
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- When it comes to the annual Gene Riegle Memorial at the
Darke County Fair, a couple of things have come to be expected.
Big lines at the betting windows.
This year was no different when it came to the pari-mutuel betting for
the biggest harness horse race of the season.
Fast times from some of the best horses around.
Again, 2015 was no different than years past. A year ago, it was Easy
Again in a time of 1:53.2. In 2015, it was a new name that got the job
done, My Kinda Chip with Jason Brewer in the sulky, recording a time of
1:52.4.
Coming into the 2015 Riegle Memorial, all eyes were on the 2014 winner,
Easy Again.
The question was could the six year old repeat as the 2015 champion and
match his counterpart in the Three Diamonds as Rescue Team pulled off
the feat as a two time winner.
That was not going to happen as My Kinda Chip dispelled all the talk
about a repeat.
Chip not only won the race but outlasted Easy Again at the line in a
second place finish.
It didn’t take long to realize the one year old track record was in
jeopardy as the opening quarter was ran in a blistering pace of 27
seconds flat.
By the half-way mark, 55.1 seconds was in the books and 1:24.4 was the
time at the three-quarters mark.
At that point, it was game on between Chip and Easy Again.
Jack Dailey was pushing the issue, coming hard on the outside but
Dailey would fall short by a half a length.
“I never thought we would ever be running these kind of times at this
track,” said Bruce Riegle, son of the late Gene Riegle. “My dad would
never have believed this. We raced and trained several great horses on
this track and never thought about these kind of times on this track.
This is unbelievable. They’ve done a great job getting the track ready
and a great job bringing the crowds in and that’s what it’s all about.”
It was a nice crowd and the bunch came loaded with enthusiasm.
“It’s nice to see this kind of enthusiasm in the crowd because it shows
they appreciate this kind of competition,” Riegle said. “Everyone
involved has brought this to a big climax and that’s what it’s all
about.”
In only the fourth year of the race, Riegle was amazed at how big the
race has become.
“I never thought it would ever get this big,” admitted Riegle. “I know
people thought a lot about my father and it’s unbelievable that the
Darke County fair put this on in honor of him. I really appreciate that
my father’s name lives on through this race and my family really
appreciates what’s been done here. I know my dad is smiling down about
this race.”
It was just a few short years ago, the Riegle Memorial was nothing more
than a dream.
Four years ago, that dream became a reality and Riegle spoke of the one
that brought it to life…Tim Harless.
“Tim is a great guy and this is his heart. It’s his passion,” Riegle
stated. “You take a guy like Tim with that much passion, he’s going to
do all he can do to make it happen and that’s what he’s done. If you
look at the horses, a field of eight and the money these horses have
won (over three million dollars) this is an invitational anywhere you
want to go. For them to come to a county fair track in Ohio is amazing
and speaks highly for my dad and Tim. My hat’s off to Tim and I respect
him a lot for putting all this together.”
In the race for the Phillies and Mares, the Three Diamonds, it was
another race named in honor of Riegle. This time it was Bruce that
drove Three Diamonds to the win in the Jugette.
The purse was originally set at $32,000 for the Riegle but topped out
at $33,600. The Three Diamonds held a purse of $11,000.
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The Riegle Memorial Winners Circle.
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Jack Daily, with Rescue Team, wins the Three Diamonds Friday. It was
the second straight year for the five
year old mare to go to the
winners circle for the mile pace. The winning time went in 1:56.4.
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The Three Diamonds winners circle.
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