Apr 1, 2021 | Employment, General News, Racing, Uncategorized
WILKES-BARRE, PA (April 1, 2021) – Mohegan Sun Pocono (MSP) is pleased to announce Michael Zullinger has been promoted to Director of Race and Sportsbook Operations. In this role, Michael will oversee racing operations, including live racing, at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, as well as onsite Sportsbook operations at both The Downs at MSP and MSP at Lehigh Valley Race and Sportsbook, located in Allentown, PA.
“We are thrilled to have Michael assume the role of Director of Race and Sportsbook Operations,” said Tony Carlucci, President & General Manager of Mohegan Sun Pocono. “His vast horse racing and off-track wagering experience certainly make him an asset to our team, and we’re really excited about the future of both The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and Mohegan Sun Pocono at Lehigh Valley Race and Sportsbook under his leadership.”
Michael has 27 years of experience with off-track wagering, starting his career as a part-time Mutuel Teller in 1994. Michael became a Facility Manager in 1997, and used his expertise to facilitate operations at off-track wagering sites in Carbondale, Hazelton and East Stroudsburg over the course of 23 years. In July 2020, Michael joined the team at Mohegan Sun Pocono at Lehigh Valley Race and Sportsbook, where his guidance and dedicated work during the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact, resulting in his recent promotion.
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN POCONO
Mohegan Sun Pocono, owned by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, was the first destination to bring gaming to Pennsylvania in 2006 and since then has become one of the premier entertainment, gaming, shopping, and dining destinations in the state. Situated on 400 acres in Plains, Pennsylvania, Mohegan Sun Pocono features a 238-room hotel with on-site spa and adjacent 20,000 square-foot Convention Center. It is currently home to 82,000 square feet of gaming space including nearly 60 live table games, over 1900 slot machines and electronic table games, a variety of dining and shopping options, nightlife, entertainment and live harness racing. Mohegan Sun Pocono 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 our website. Connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, download our app and view us on YouTube.
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Mar 3, 2020 | Racing
Game of Claims Finals Recap
We have slowly worked our way into the 2020 season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, racing just two nights a week throughout the month of February, a much earlier start to the season than normal. But the action hit the ground running, in large part due to the Game of Claims series, a fun late closer affair making its debut at Pocono this year.
Each weekend in February at Pocono, four different groups of claimers met in preliminary legs with the intent of making the high-stakes finals. They were eligible to be claimed in those preliminaries, with the claiming price rising each week to make it more expensive for owners who wanted to jump in late on a hot horse. The finals took place this past Saturday and Sunday. Let’s see who came out on top.
CLAIMING PRICE $15,000 to $20,000 (Final Purse $30,000)
Royal Heart went off as the 9-5 betting favorite after winning his previous leg. He grabbed a pocket seat early behind second choice Horsing Around, who came in with wins in both of his previous Game of Claims races with front-end speed. But Horsing Around couldn’t get away with an easy lead in the Saturday night final, as he was hounded by a first-over effort from Pop’s Romeo.
Even though Horsing Around fended off that effort, it left him vulnerable in the stretch drive. That’s when driver Simon Allard tipped Royal Heart to the outside and he came up strong to win it by a half-length in 1:53:3 over Horsing Around. American Music finished third. Royal Heart moved to two-for-two since joining the Rene Allard barn.
CLAIMING PRICE $25,000 to $30,000 (Final Purse $50,000)
After winning the first two legs of the series, Trente Deo took last week off after being claimed and joining the barn of trainer William Adamczyk. He went off as the 2-1 second choice in Saturday night’s final, with Polak A getting the favorite’s attention at 9-5. Driver Jim Morrill Jr. had Trente Deo in motion first-over pretty early in the mile, but that proved to be the right move when he picked up cover from Classy Hill on the back stretch.
When the rounded the final turn, Trente Deo shrugged off the cover and came charging up at Polak A, who was setting the pace. Trente Deo blew right past Polak A and then held off late kick from What’s Goin On to finish second, with Beach Pro nabbing the show. Trente Deo won by 1 ½ lengths in 1:52:3 to finish a perfect three-for-three in the series.
CLAIMING PRICE $7,500 to $11,000 (Purse: $15,000)
In his back-to-back wins in preliminary legs, Always B Magic benefitted from inside post positions and pocket trips. For the final on Sunday night, he had to leave from post position #5 in a field of nine, still a good spot but a decidedly different look. Tough Mudder set the pace, while driver George Napolitano Jr. decided on a first-over path for Always B Magic, the even-money favorite, when he couldn’t get the pocket.
It was by no means an easy journey for Always B Magic, considering he was parked out for two of the three turns. He eventually wore down Tough Mudder, but Naked City came up strong late after the favorite provided his cover. Always B Magic managed to gut it out to win it by a nose for new trainer Susan Marshall, staying perfect in the series with a winning time of 1:55. Naked City just missed in second while Mystery Island picked up the show.
CLAIMING PRICE $10,000 to $15,000 (Purse: $20,000)
In the preliminary legs of this group, Charger Blue Chip was arguably the top performer, going win, show, win in the three races. Yet he found himself at 9-1 on the odds board in Sunday’s final, primarily because he was saddled with the outside #9 post. Driver Jim Marohn Jr. drove him aggressively, sending him early and retaking the lead from Carmens Best on the front stretch.
A lot of times a speed duel like that would leave a horse vulnerable to closers. And, indeed, Grandpa Don, the 7-5 favorite, came up with a first-over threat. But Marohn kept summoning up reserves of energy from Charger Blue Chip, leaving Grandpa Don and the rest of the field struggling in his wake. Charger Blue Chip, trained by Marc Mosher, came home a 2 ¼-length winner in 1:54:1, with Grandpa Don second and Carmens Best third.
That will do it for this week at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Nov 7, 2019 | Racing
There are only three days remaining in the 2019 racing season at the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, and the track in Northeast PA is planning a special “Fan Appreciation Night” on Saturday, November 16th. Just in time for the cold weather, fans can pick up a special commemorative hooded sweatshirt, while supplies last. A coupon is required, and will be in the live racing program, available starting at 5:00pm at the Racing Rewards desk. The coupon may be redeemed between 9:00pm and 10:00pm at the lower grandstand, and sizes are limited.
The Downs is also continuing to highlight the best of the 2019 season, with the Leading Trainer – UTRS to be honored on Saturday, November 9th, and the Leading Driver and Trotter of the Year spotlighted on closing night, November 16th. Rene Allard was honored for Leading Trainer – Wins on Saturday, November 2nd, and Atta Boy Dan took home two awards, Pacer of the Year and Claimer of the Year on Saturday, October 26th.
Post Time for the two Saturday cards is 7:00pm, and Tuesday post is 4:00pm.
The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono’s 2020 racing schedule will be released in late December.
Oct 30, 2019 | Racing
The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono 2019 Season Review
October 29, 2019
We are winding up the 2019 racing season here at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. It was another extremely successful campaign filled with excitement and surprises, favorites and longshots, unexpected winners and scintillating performances. In short, everything a harness racing fan could possibly want out of a racing season.
We started back in the middle of March and we are closing up shop on Saturday night, November 16. When you are in the midst of the season, it always seems like it’s flying by. But then you think back at all of the great racing that has taken place and you realize just how full of action this meet has been.
As always, we use the end of the season to take a look back at the top performers, both human and equine, for the 2019 season. One thing that stands out is the great balance that Pocono can boast, both in terms of the depth of the driving and training colony, and also in terms of the amount of outstanding horses who made the track their semi-permanent home this year.
On the equine side, it was particularly tough to choose the horses that would be honored with yearend awards. But the three horses who received the honors were extremely well-deserving and feel like the right calls.
Leading off is the amazing veteran Atta Boy Dan, who became the first horse in Pocono history to win both Pacer of the Year and Claimer of the Year honors for his winning ways at the very top of the claiming ladder. He ended in the Pete Pellegrino barn, but many different trainers had a hand in his 2019 campaign at Pocono.
Joining Atta Boy Dan on the dais are Eclipse Me N, Mare of the Year, Rich And Miserable, Trotter of the Year. Eclipse Me N proved nearly unbeatable whenever he showed up at Pocono for trainer Rene Allard to take on the featured Mares pacers on Tuesday nights. And Rich And Miserable worked his way up through the condition ladder for trainer Todd Buter until he captured the finals of the Great Northeast Open Series to culminate his amazing meet.
As far as drivers and trainers, the pressure is off us, because the awards are based on the statistics. And, as far as statistics go, there isn’t a driving stat that you can find at Pocono that doesn’t have George Napolitano Jr. sitting at the top of the list. Add two more to the ledger for George Nap, as he once again swept the titles for Pocono driving wins and driving UDRS in 2019, a campaign which saw him pick up his 10,000th career driving win and his 5,000th victory at the Pocono oval.
On the training side, Rene Allard continued his dominance by adding to his impressive string of Pocono training wins titles, as he was the only trainer to hit triple digits in wins in the 2019 meet. On the UDRS, it was a family affair, as Hunter Oakes, at press time, appeared as if he would just hold off his father Chris to win that crown.
We always talk about the champs, but the overall balance was quite impressive. In addition to George Napolitano Jr., Anthony Napolitano, Simon Allard, Tyler Buter, Matt Kakaley, Eric Carlson, and Marcus Miller all managed at least 100 driving wins in the 2019 meet at Pocono. Meanwhile, Ron Burke, Gilberto Garcia-Herrera, and Jose Godinez joined Rene Allard and Hunter Oakes in the top 5 in training victories.
We also witnessed greatness in many of our traditional stakes races, including a Sun Stakes Saturday where upsets were the order of the evening. It was also nice to see many horses who made their way through Pocono in 2019 were able to perform extremely well in the Breeders Crown races in Canada recently.
With all that in mind, it is just about time to move on from the 2019 campaign. Certainly, we look forward to being back in 2020 and doing it all over again.
But before that, I’d just like to say thanks to all of the horsemen and women for their outstanding efforts in 2019. I’d like to thank all of the employees at The Downs at Mohegan Sun as well, all of whom, I assure you, have a more difficult job than mine and are responsible for making the product come off so seamlessly each racing night.
And, finally, on behalf of all of us at Pocono, I’d like to send out heartfelt thanks to the fans. Ever since I started writing this column some 15 years ago, I’ve been saying that our fans are the best in the sport and are the heart and soul of our racing product. A lot of things change in this world. Thankfully, that hasn’t been one of them.
That will do it for the 2019 season at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 27, 2019 | Racing
On Saturday night, the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono honored its 2019 Pacer of the Year and Claimer of the Year, who happened to be one and the same horse – the Western Terror 10-year-old gelding Atta Boy Dan.
So far this year at Pocono, Atta Boy Dan has posted a record of 22-13-2-3, with earnings of $151,575. He was all but invincible in the top claiming ranks through most of the summer, taking ten of eleven starts, and he was claimed out of fourteen straight races, an unofficial local record. Peter Pellegrino, training the horse for owner Stephen Larkin as the last of the long line claiming Atta Boy Dan, was among those in the Pocono winners circle for the ceremonies. Atta Boy Dan is the first horse in recent memory to be a double honor winner for a season.
Over the next two weeks, the Trotter of the Year and Mare of the Year will be honored, as well as those achieving the honors in training and driving for the 2019 season.
Oct 9, 2019 | Racing
October 5-11, 2019
One of the fun things about the racing action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun is how, year after year, we see a lot of the same horses coming back to perform well. That allows the fans to develop a relationship with these performers over time, a relationship that can really intensify with horses that race effectively to the point where they approach 10 or so years old. Case in point: the horse who leads off the Weekly Awards this week and has been doing damage at Pocono for years and years.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SCOTT ROCKS
It wouldn’t have felt right if we made it through an entire season at Pocono without Scott Rocks capturing Pacer of the Week honors. The nine-year-old gelding has probably won more Saturday night features than any other horse in the track’s history, and he just keeps rolling. He picked up a win in the featured $21,500 condition pace on September 28 in a season-best 1:49:3, and he was right back at it again last Saturday night in that class, leaving from an outside post in a field of six.
Even though he was coming off the win in the same class, and even though he’s proven himself again and again at the Pocono over, Scott Rocks, trained by Hunter Oakes, went off as the 9-5 second choice on the board. The favorite was Western Joe, an equally classy pacer who was coming off two straight wins at Pocono, the previous one in a scorching 1:48:2. It figured to be a showdown between these two, and that’s just what materialized.
Western Joe set the pace after taking the lead from Scott Rocks on the first turn. The fractions that he set were quick but reasonable, but he was never able to open up any kind of margin on Scott Rocks. In the stretch, George Napolitano Jr., who was been the driver for the vast majority of the Pocono wins for Scott Rocks, tipped him to the outside. Scott Rocks nosed out Western Joe in a thrilling stretch duel for the victory in 1:50:2, adding to the incredible record he has forged at his favorite track of all.
Other top pacers this week include: Clarebear (Eric Carlson, Michael Russo), who moved up in class on Tuesday night for her second straight victory at Pocono, this time capturing the featured condition pace for mares in 1:52:1; Burning Midnight (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), who moved up in class for his second straight condition win on Saturday night, getting it done in 1:52:3; and Twin B Tuffenuff (Anthony Napolitano, Ron Burke), who captured his second straight condition pacing win on Sunday night, getting it done in 1:50:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: JOEY PRO
This five-year-old gelding has really taken to Pocono since shipping in from New York. He reeled off back-to-back condition wins immediately upon arrival, both from unforgiving #8 post positions. First Joey Pro, trained by John Hallett, handled an $8,500 condition group on the front end to win on September 22 in 1:55:3. He followed it up by beating the $11,000 condition trotters a week later in a new career-best time of 1:54:4, this time using a pocket trip to get it done.
On Sunday night at Pocono, Joey Pro stepped up in class again, this time taking on a $14,000 condition class from the #7 post in a field of eight. Moving up the condition ladder is never easy, but it was especially daunting this time around as the field contained a pair of million-dollar earners in Zooming and DW’s NY Yank. The latter set the pace as the 6-5 favorite, while Joey Pro, at 8-1, found the pocket seat early.
DW’s NY Yank had to endure a strong first-over challenge to his lead from Archibald. Meanwhile, Anthony Napolitano waited patiently for his chance with Joey Pro before finally getting a chance to cut him loose in the passing lane. Joey Pro surged even with DW’s NY Yank and then stepped past, getting up to win by three parts of a length in the process. On top of winning his third straight, he also reset his career mark with a mile of 1:54:3.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: TSM Photo Bugger (Fern Paquet Jr., Karen Fread), who churned out his second straight condition win on Sunday night, this one in 1:54:4; Hill Of A Horse (Marcus Miller, Erv Miller), whose condition win on Sunday night in 1:54:3 was a career-best; and Boss Du Fosse (George Napolitano Jr., Mark Silva), who followed up back-to-back wins at Harrah’s at Philadelphia with a claiming handicap victory at Pocono on Saturday night in 1:55:2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: BUTTER TOFFEE
You might say it was a sweet victory for this trotter trained and driven by Alex Kavoleff, especially at odds of 21-1 on a Monday condition victory for a $2-win payout of $45.20.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
As the season comes to close, George Nap, well on his way to another Pocono driving title, is intensifying the pace, as evidenced by his eight-win night on Saturday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: MARK SILVA
Silva enjoyed an excellent weekend at Pocono, following up a training double on Saturday night with another victory on Sunday night in the featured condition trot with Scirocco Rob.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
