Only one night remains in the 50th Anniversary season for the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, and the track in Northeast PA continues their awards for the standouts of the 2015 season closing night, Saturday, November 21st. The Leading Driver; Leading Trainer – Wins; Claimer of the Year; and Three-Year-Old of the Year will accept their awards.
The Claimer of the Year for 2015 is the inimitable R Gauwitz Hanover. Even before he arrived at Pocono in May, he was already a big winner in 2015, racking up six wins in New York. But it was here that the 6-year-old gelding achieved his greatest success, winning nine of his 14 races at the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, all while moving up in class from the $10,000 claimers to the $25,000 claiming handicaps. He won several races from outside posts, had victories for seven different trainers at Pocono; and notched a career-best mile of 1:49 as part of his unforgettable 2015 campaign at Pocono. The track will honor this great gelding with his record number of claims by displaying, in the paddock, his custom-designed blanket with rainbow letters to signify all the different stables.
The 3-Year-old of the Year honor has been bestowed upon K Ryan Bluechip. The gelding from the Joe Pavia Jr. barn finished fourth on April 8th in a maiden race at Pocono in what was his first start of the 2015 season. After that, the only view other horses had of him at Pocono for the remainder of the season was his back end. K Ryan Bluechip raced five more times at Pocono and won them all in impressive fashion, none slower than 1:51.1, and his career-best win of 1:50.2 came in September.
Rene Allard dominated the training wins, picking up his third straight title in that category. Allard had nearly twice as many victories as his nearest competitor, and he has set the record for the most training wins in a season in Pocono history.
On the driving side, it was a monster season for George Napolitano Jr., who easily won both the driving wins and driving percentage titles. George Nap broke his own single-season record for wins at Pocono, and he also notched over 400 wins this season.
Saturday is also a special thank you to the loyal fans with Fan Appreciation Night. Souvenirs of the 50th Anniversary season will be given out to fans with a coupon from the live racing program starting at 7:00pm.
Racing returns March, 2016, and Simulcast is open year-round.