Madd Hoss Jackson races in Brown County Fair Harness Racing
by Taylor Anderson
The Brown County Fair is known across the country as a ‘Blue Ribbon Fair’ for its first class Harness Racing.
This year the tradition continued, but this time most of the crowd was rooting for one horse in particular.
Madd Hoss Jackson isn’t just a horse racing in Saturday’s event, but also a band that’s fan base continues to grow across the Midwest.
“We’ve been around a long time , we do a lot of fundraisers, we support the community a lot, Mt. Sterling and Rushville, a couple of the guys from Rushville, we do a lot for the community and we have a lot of support. I’ve had a lot of people today say I cant wait to go see Madd Hoss Jackson race so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Founding Member Jim Jennings.
Just last year, President Ed Teefey with the Mt. Sterling Farmers State Bank decided if he ever bought a horse, he would name it Madd Hoss Jackson.
“I thought he was joking and a few months ago he called me and said I want to do that, but to do that you need to come sign some papers and what not, and make sure its all legal and good to go,” said Jennings.
For decades families have been coming to watch these races, and among those are State Representative Norine Hammond and her family.
“Madd Hoss Jackson is a legend, and we are hoping that legend comes true for us today as well on the race track and the winner’s circle and we’re looking forward to it,” Representative Hammond said.
“When you have horses with local connections and we’ve had a lot of those over the years, that also add something to it. Madd Hoss Jackson named after the band of course will create a little bit of buzz around here, I’m hoping it will at the State Fair as well,” said Interviewer Josh Carter.
After 7 races and another 9 on Sunday, the Brown County Fair Harness Racing will continue to be a long and storied tradition across Illinois.