MOUNT VERNON — The final day of any series of competitions is nearly always guaranteed to produce some very stellar performances. The Thursday edition of the 2008 Knox County Fair, which capped racing for the week, saw several top performances on the harness race track.

Before the figure-8 school bus races got the crowd roaring, the harness races had the crowd cheering on its favorite combinations of horses and drivers. Three track records fell on the night; a sign that the competition at this year’s Knox County Fair was some of the best the fair has ever seen.

“We have had a very good crowd, and for the week we have had four track records broken,” said harness racing coordinator Jim Shipley, who is a member of the fair board. “We had a really good week of harness racing. I just can’t believe we had people come out and bet the way they did, and enjoy themselves.”

The sport of harness racing has experienced a decrease in participation on Ohio tracks recently. Smaller crowds mean less money at the pari-mutual wagering windows; this eventually leads to smaller pots for the drivers.

According to Shipley, the rule of thumb the fair uses to judge a good night of wagering is $1,000 of bets per race. The crowd bet $13,000 on the 11 races Thursday night, meaning Shipley and the fair board are pleased with the turnout in the crowd.

“We have seen a big crowd out here all week for harness racing, and that’s what we like to have,” said Shipley. “We have a beautiful track here, and it is a fast track. Delaware has the best half-mile fair track, and we race right with them.”

Shipley, along with his staff of Curt Bechtel and Jamie Shipley, has been working to make the Mount Vernon track fast for some time. Six weeks before the fair started, they started pouring water over the entire track each day. The track has a record of under two minutes for both the pace and the trot, something a little unusual for a half-mile fair track.