The Converse Fair was first called the Xenia Fair back in 1871.  Harness racing has been associated with both names.  The location of the Converse Fair has much to do with the early success of the fair.  Four counties: Wabash, Grant, Howard and Miami, form the hub. Railroads and interurban lines helped the fair, and by 1902, a 24 passenger train passed through Converse linking Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio.

In 1908 the Converse Fair produced a state of the art all-weather track.

Some of the famous names racing around the ½ mile are: Sep Palin, Bob Farrington, Gene Sears, Doug Ackerman, Rambling Willie, Jimmy Creed, just to name a few. Bob  Farrington purchased RAMBLING WILLIE in Barn #1 at the Converse Fair.  Rambling Willie went on to set many records in the harness racing industry.

Some of the early trainers that trained at Converse included, Ike Jones, the father of Emma Sowash.  Some of his heirs still train there.  They include Jerry Sowash and Joe Sumner.  One of the early woman trainers was Mae Britt, who could drive as rough a race as any man. Stutterin’ Ott Retherford and Oral Hobbs, whose son Merrill is still active in the business, also trained here.  Ott Retherford died during a race at the ½ mile, so his nephew, Clarence (Ty) Drook, took over the reins for the second heat of the race. Ty trained a stable of horses there for several years and raced the grand circuit until in the late 1960s.

In later years you could hear the following names: Trimble, Shaw, Dever, Fox, Cain, Retherford, Burns, Drook, Druck, Bowman, Shirley, Hiple, Losure, White, Daugherty, Smith, Highley, Steelman, McVay, Mark, Knox, Miller, Crain, McGibbons, Harts, Montgomery, Williams, ...and the list could go on for miles.  Each has contributed to the legend which has been Indiana harness racing and it’s future.