COMING around the curve and heading to the finish line in the first race on Sunday — a thoroughbred maiden claiming for 5½ furlongs — was this field of horses. The two-day Gillespie County Race Meet on Saturday and Sunday was the third of four scheduled at the local Class III facility this summer. Live pari-mutuel racing comes to a close for 2013 on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24-25, as part of the 125th Gillespie County Fair (Aug. 22-25).
While the temperature outside may have reached near triple digits over the weekend, the pace at the Gillespie County Fair Grounds on Saturday and Sunday was a busy one for the Gillespie County Race Meet.
Sponsored by the Gillespie County fair and Festivals Association, the third of four live pari-mutuel horse racing meets saw 14 races run on Saturday and 12 on Sunday at the Class III five-eighths mile oval.
Activities were also taking place in the Show Barn on Saturday and Sunday with the Meat Goat Futurity, Lamb Futurity and Gillespie County Race Day Classic Steer Show.
(Photos of the winners from the livestock shows, held as part of the upcoming 125th Gillespie County Fair, can be found elsewhere in this issue of the newspaper.)
A total of 2,245 racing fans attended the two-day meet including 1,414 on Saturday and 831 on Sunday.
For more on this story, read this week’s print and online editions of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. If you are a print subscriber, your full online subscription is free. All you need to do is call 830-997-2155 to get a password. If you are not a subscriber, call 997-2155 or click on the ‘Subscribe’ button on the left side of the home page and sign up today!