News

Donohue Wins Mule Exhibition

by Jada Buchanan

Hoosier Park Racing and Casino celebrated Saturday, Sept. 5 with Wild West Adventure in The Yard. The day offered several different activities, but one of the highlights of the Wild West theme was the Mule Exhibition Race. The field was made up of nine different mules of all shapes, sizes, colors and size of their ears.

The mules did one parade lap for the crowd to cheer on their favorite mule and rider as they headed to the starting line. There was no gate start in this race with only the drop of a hat to signal the start. As the mules took off from the starting line, some went straight and some went sideways and backwards.

It was easy to see that the mule from post eight, Otis, was headed straight to the finish line from the very start of the race. The other mules couldn’t even come close to him during the race. Otis won the race and was followed by the second place mule Jake, ridden by Dean Whitaker. Otis was ridden by his owner Becky Donohue, who operates Becky’s Backstretch Kitchen located in the barn area at Hoosier Park.

“I would have never thought that Otis would actually win the race,” said Donohue. “This was only his second time racing and he did everything for me. I have three mules total and Otis is just a good boy that likes to trail ride and have a good time. I am very proud that he won the race and still shocked.”

Donohue worked with her husband, John, to raise the money to supply the purse for the Mule Exhibition race. After her surprise win, she is planning on donating the whole purse to The House of Hope in Madison County. The winner’s share of the purse was $600.

“The House of Hope is a program for men that are recovering from addictions,” said Donohue. “I am donating the whole purse to this cause because I know they can use all the help they can get. Everyone is hurting right now. I think this is something little I can do to help out.”