WILKES-BARRE, PA — Arch Madness, driven by Brian Sears, made harness racing history Tuesday, June 8th at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs when the aged trotter stopped the timer in 1:51. The 1:51 mile is the fastest ever produced on a five-eighths mile oval in the history of harness racing.
Assigned the nine hole in a deep $24,000 open handicap trot field, Sears left quickly and followed Corleone Kosmos (Eric Goodell) with the latter trotter taking the field to the opening quarter in 27.3. Shortly thereafter near the three-eighths marker, Arch Madness grabbed the lead and was on the front end with the half reading 55.4. Arch Madness got to the three-quarter pole in 1:23.2 before stopping the timer in 1:51.
“Trond (Smedshammer) and I thought we would break the world record some day,” said Sears. “But being cool I didn’t think it would be tonight. Arch Madness is super sharp and he did it pretty easily. I wanted to be aggressive leaving from the outside and it worked out really well.”
This was the second win in six starts this season for Arch Madness, owned by Marc D. Goldberg of Woodmere, N.Y., and Willow Pond LLC, Hewlett, N.Y. The six-year-old gelding also has two second-place finishes and a third in 2010 and has been going up against Lucky Jim, another of the world’s top aged trotters.
Previously, Macho Lindy (Larry Stalbaum) had the all-time track mark at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs while Scorpion Moon and Beach Nut Brand had the aged gelding trot mark of 1:52.4. Ironically, Scorpion Moon was in the Tuesday night race with Arch Madness.
The great Varenne, a seven-year-old stallion, had the all-time track mark of 1:51.3 for a five-eighths mile oval. That was established July 14, 2002 in Mikkeli, Finland, with Giampaolo Minnucci in the sulky.
About Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, owned by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, is one of the most distinctive and spectacular entertainment, gaming, shopping and dining destinations in Pennsylvania. Situated on 400 acres in Plains, Pennsylvania, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is currently home to 55,000 square feet of gaming space including 2,500 slot machines and electronic table games, a variety of dining and shopping options, nightlife, entertainment and live harness racing eight months out of the year. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is within easy access of New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware. More information is available by calling 1.888. WIN IN PA (1.888.946.4672) or visiting mohegansunpocono.com.