Noble Falcon (left), driven by Brian Sears, begins to make his move down the home stretch at the Orleans County Fair Friday. Tim Tetrick, behind Blue Ridge Western, tried to hold the royal bird off but got caught at the finish. Photo by Joseph Gresser
BARTON — Noble Falcon — a sleek, gleaming bay standardbred racehorse — set a track record and a Vermont state record at Roaring Brook Park on Friday.
Noble Falcon and stablemate Blue Ridge Western are owned by Fran and Melanie Azur, who divide their time between Newport Center and Pennsylvania. The Azurs brought the two star horses and two star drivers up to give the sport of harness racing a boost. They raced in a matinee for no purse on Friday before the rest of the races, and paced a mile in less than two minutes.
It couldn’t have gone better.
“Dreams do come true because bringing something like this to Barton is unheard of,” said harness racing organizer Kim Brooks.
Left to right are Fran and Melanie Azur, Sheri and Kevin McDermott, and Noble Falcon. The Azurs own Noble Falcon, and Mr. McDermott is his trainer. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
Along with bringing the superstars to town, the Azurs put $16,000 into purse supplements to encourage more horse owners and trainers to compete at the Orleans County Fair this year.
“We gave away 397 tickets in an hour,” said Ms. Brooks. Grandstand tickets were free on Friday. Anyone in the stands had a chance to win prizes, and giving away tickets gave the organizers a chance to keep track of how many people were watching the races.
“There’s no two better horses that could’ve come here, no two better drivers,” said Ms. Brooks. “We got the best of all worlds.”
Ms. Brooks spent four days and four nights on the fairgrounds to make sure everything went perfectly.
“I got to sleep right in front of their stalls,” she said. Normally, the horses’ trainer, Kevin McDermott, sleeps in the barn with them. Mr. McDermott was beside himself with excitement just after the race on Friday. Noble Falcon is his favorite, and Mr. McDermott was as proud as could be, literally jumping into the air with enthusiasm.
Noble Falcon is five years old and has earned $555,700 so far. Blue Ridge Western is four and has earned $972,064.
Tim Tetrick drove Blue Ridge Western. In 2008, horses driven by Mr. Tetrick won a record $19.7-million on the racetrack. He grew up racing at county fairs in Illinois.
Brian Sears, who is nearing $100-million in earnings on the racetrack, drove Noble Falcon.
“We love the area,” said Mr. Azur just after the race. “Everybody loves the Barton fair.”
The Azurs own 13 racehorses. Mr. Azur grew up watching harness racing at the fair, and later when he lived near Philadelphia he used to watch races there. At that track, there might be 200 horses racing on a given day. He bought one, and that was the start of it all.
Noble Falcon, on the left, broke a state record and track record in an exhibition race at the Orleans County Fair on Friday. On the right is Blue Ridge Western. Both horses are owned by Melanie and Fran Azur of Newport Center. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
For a good part of Friday’s race, Blue Ridge Western was ahead, but in the last stretch Noble Falcon pulled ahead — just by a nose. He ended up with a time of 1:56.2 — just under two minutes for a mile. Fans in the grandstand were on their feet, cheering. The state record, which was set in Rutland, was 1:59.4
After the race, the stars — both human and equine — visited with the public in a special tent built for their use.
Meanwhile in another barn at the fair, Jeff Deslandes reminisced about learning the sport of harness racing from Stanwood “Doc” Churchill and his son George while growing up in the area. Now he lives in Saratoga, New York, and makes a living training racehorses. He trains 32 horses every day with a staff of half a dozen people working for him.
He owns standardbreds himself and had four at the fairgrounds. He and his son Dan both raced.
“I’ve got a horse racing tomorrow for $77,000.”
According to biographical notes posted on the Saratoga gaming and raceway web site, Mr. Deslandes has had much success in his racing career, including an award in 2004 after 52 wins. He was given the Peerless McGrath award for an up and coming trainer. In 2007 he had 83 wins out of 475 starts, and the horses he trained had winnings of $543,738.
Mr. Deslandes said about 15 minutes before the exhibition race, Mr. Sears came by, looking for a different bike (racing sulky) to use. The wheels on the super expensive bikes are much lighter, Mr. Deslandes said — similar to the wheels on ten-speed bicycles people ride on paved roads.
Mr. Deslandes knew that the Barton track would be dirt and brought bikes with heavier wheels, similar to mountain bikes.
Jeff Deslandes and his son, Dan, with their mare, Grayter Raider. “This is her first start back,” said Jeff Deslandes. She was claimed away from him in a claiming race, but they managed to claim her back recently. “She’s kind of a family pet.” Mr. Deslandes learned harness racing in Barton and trains 32 horses in Saratoga, New York, these days. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
“He just happened to see that we had a Black Jack,” said Mr. Deslandes. He said Mr. Sears has driven for him before and knew his equipment would be top-notch, so he asked to borrow it.
In other words, Mr. Sears and Noble Falcon broke the state record on a dirt track that is used two days a year, with borrowed equipment.
In perfect conditions — which would be a stone dust track — Noble Falcon has gone a mile in 1:48.3.
Conditions came into play even more in the races right after the exhibition race. Pouring rain just after the record-breaking run created a surface of slick mud, but the horses and drivers were not afraid to get dirty. They plunged right into it. Horses and drivers were coated with so much mud it was impossible to tell what colors the drivers were wearing.
Ms. Brooks said Tuesday the event has created a rumble all through harness racing. Drivers at the Meadowlands in New Jersey were all wishing they had been the ones the Azurs had brought up to Barton.
Just after the race, Mr. Azur said things were going so well he expects to do something similar again next year.
“Fran had a call from the judge at the Meadowlands just saying how much this meant,” said Mrs. Azur. “It’s a good thing for Vermont.”
