A day at the races is hard to beat

As horses and ponies raced around the dirt track at the Carlton County Fair last weekend, one could easily imagine similar scenes playing since the original races there in 1891.

The first race Saturday in Barnum featured adults running alongside the three smallest riders and their tiny ponies in the lead-line race. Insiders say the winner is determined by which adult can run the fastest as much as anything.

The second race saw children riding ponies solo, like a smaller, shorter and much slower version of the Kentucky Derby. Whyatt Mielke riding Poppy was the clear winner, with Adalyn Mielke a...