Standardbred Horse Racing

Gate 5 WILL BE CLOSED for the duration of the Fair!  If you go to any gate other than Gate 4, you will have to pay for both parking and entry.

The Illinois State Fair is switching to electronic entry to the State Fair this year, and to make this work, they are closing Gate 5 and asking us to enter at Gate 4.  You will be able to purchase entry tickets to the grounds and parking passes on the State Fair website  at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/37633/illinois-state-fair-springfieldil  or you can pay for entry and parking at Gate 4.

Entry at Gate 4:

• Your USTA membership card will get you on the grounds, however it does not cover parking, parking is $5 per day or $40 for a pass for the entirety of the Fair. If you don’t have an USTA membership, you can do one of the following:
  • Purchase tickets in advance at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/37633/illinois-state-fair-springfieldil choose Gate 4, Lot 12 for parking
  • Buy an entry pass ($5 per day per person Sun-Thurs or $10 Fri & Sat ) and parking when you arrive at Gate 4
  • Grooms passes will be available but are ONLY for those who are directly involved with the care of the horses in the barns. To obtain a grooms pass, please contact Tina Schrock (217-416-0006) or Carrie Tisckos (217-557-4606) as soon as possible so you have them before the Fair starts.

If you are a USTA member but don’t have a membership card, you can print one off the USTA website through your pathway account, or you can contact Tina Schrock or LeAnn Shinn and they will print one and get it to you before the start of the Fair.

Tina will also have Grooms passes available at the County Fair races between now and the start of the Fair, so you can also get them from her there.  We have a very limited number of grooms passes, so please be accurate with your request so everyone who needs one is able to obtain them.

GATE 5 WILL BE CLOSED for the DURATION OF THE FAIR,

please follow the enclosed map to enter at GATE 4!!

Please note the following guidelines refer to the Night of Champions (N)C) if hosted by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in late September. Details are subject to change if held in conjunction with a partner.

1. Nomination form, together with appropriate fee, shall be postmarked no later than May 15th and mailed to the IDOA. Nomination information and payment can also be submitted through the nomination portal on the IDOA website.
2. For two- and three-year-old divisions: At this time, 2 legs are scheduled to accumulate points for the NOC.
   • Leg 1 – Illinois State Fair Colt Stakes Eliminations (ISFCS)
   • Leg 2 – Du Quoin State Fair
   • Entry fee for each leg is $200. All entry fees shall be paid prior to horses going to the gate. There shall be no refunds for horses that do not start. Separate nomination payments for the ISFCS are required to be made with the IDOA to earn points in these legs. Points shall be earned as follows: 1st – 50; 2nd – 25; 3rd – 12; 4th – 8; 5th – 5; 6th – 9th – 1. In the event of a dead heat, points shall be combined and divided equally between affected horses. The horses with the top ten points entered in the NOC shall qualify for the championship final. If the NOC is held at Springfield, the tenth horse will start in the back tier. If there is a tie in points for the final, this will be drawn by lot. NOC finals have an estimated purse of $60,000. Please note: The Department of Agriculture will not receive information on budget figures for harness racing until June. Based on current foal numbers and a slight reduction in the NOC nomination payment, this is our estimate at this time. When more information is available, we will update the estimated purse.
3. Horses that have earned sufficient points to compete in the final shall not be eligible for the consolation.
4. In all NOC finals and consolations, each horse finishing 6th through last (including “Did Not Finish”) shall receive two percent of the purse. The remainder of the purse shall be divided 50-25-12-8-5 for the horses finishing 1st through 5th. Horses must start to receive purse money.
5. Consolation races shall be limited to those horses that earned a minimum one point. Consolation races will be held provided a minimum of five horses are entered. Consolation races have an estimated purse of $12,000.
6. Aged races will be held provided a minimum of five horses are entered. Aged races will have an entry fee of $200 and an estimated purse of $12,000-$15,000. Ten horses will qualify for the aged finals. If eliminations are needed, they will be held on the same date as the 2-Year-Old Cardinal/Violet. The purse for elimination races is estimated at $5,000.
7. Qualifiers will be held on the same date as the 2-Year-Old Cardinal/Violet. These qualifiers are only for NOC eligible horses. These qualifiers are being held to give horsemen an opportunity for all NOC eligible horses to get a start on the Springfield track. There will be a small entry fee for qualifiers to assist with administrative costs.
8. If any unforeseen circumstances occur regarding these races, the IDOA reserves the right to handle those decisions.