Nov 20, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
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.
Nov 20, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
As the 50th Anniversary season for the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono winds down, the track in Northeast PA is honoring the standouts of the 2015 season on Wednesday. November 18th, and closing night, Saturday, November 21st.
Wednesday night, the award for the Pacer of the Year was presented to four-year-old Luck Be Withyou. The stallion from the Chris Oakes barn topped some of the world’s best pacers on July 4th, winning the Ben Franklin Pace in 1:49, going gate-to-wire from an outside post. He also had a spectacular fall, returning from Canada to chalk up three straight condition wins in September and October.
Trotter of the Year honors went to Proud Moment, who is enjoying his best season ever at age nine, not typical for a trotter. But this is not just any typical trotter! Six of the wins for the veteran warrior were at Pocono, and when he didn’t visit the Winner’s Circle, he often hit the board in impressive fashion. He beat claimers and conditioners; did it from the outside and the inside; and won his six races for five different trainers. The high point of his outstanding year was a three-race winning streak in July and August that included his career-best mile of 1:52.2.
The mare, Kiddie McCardle, was presented with the Mare of the Year honors on Wednesday, as well. She has performed for several different barns at Pocono this season, picking up eight wins, including a 1:51.1 mile which set a career-mark for her at age seven. She is extremely tough, despite the fact that she’s often faced with brutal post positions in claiming handicaps; she’s been extremely competitive of late since moving over to face condition pacing mares.
The award for Leading Trainer/UTR, was bestowed upon Chris Oakes for the fourth time. Accompanied by his family and friends, Oakes accepted his award on Wednesday night, and was in the Winner’s Circle as Luck Be Withyou and Proud Moment were honored.
Closing night, Saturday, November 21st, the Leading Driver; Leading Trainer – Wins; Claimer of the Year; and Three-Year-Old of the Year accept their awards. It is also a special thank you to the loyal fans with Fan Appreciation Night. Souvenirs of the 50th Anniversary season will be given out with a coupon from the live racing program starting at 7:00pm.
Nov 18, 2015 | Entertainment, Food & Beverage, General News, Holiday
Celebrate the season on December 2nd with a holiday tree, live music, festive dance, fireworks and more
Join Mohegan Sun Pocono for a holiday celebration like no other on Wednesday, December 2nd starting at 6:00pm.
WHEN
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Main Casino Entrance
Festivities begin at 6:00pm; tree lighting and fireworks at 7:00pm
IN DETAIL
Join Mohegan Sun Pocono for a holiday celebration like no other on Wednesday, December 2nd starting at 6:00pm.
Mirth and merriment abounds across the whole property, with activities that the whole family will love. Enjoy the holiday spirit and tradition of Christmas at Rockefeller Center without leaving Northeastern Pennsylvania!
This remarkable night of Christmas cheer will include a spectacular performance by Ballet Northeast, Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Premier Youth Ballet Company; festive holiday carols performed by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic musicians and the Mohegan Sun Pocono Team Member Choir; seasonal refreshments; holiday giveaways and so much more, including special appearances by Santa Claus and other guests! The night will be capped off with the celebratory lighting of a lavish 34-foot holiday tree at 7:00pm, with delightful fireworks to follow, marking the occasion.
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN POCONO
Mohegan Sun Pocono, 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 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 91 live table games, 2,300 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, download our app and view us on YouTube.
Nov 17, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
November 7-13, 2015
As we approach the close of another racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, it’s time to look back and assess the season that was. All year long in this space we’ve been handing out awards to the top performers of each racing week. Now it’s time to crown season-long achievement by handing out awards to Pocono’s Horses of the Year.
Selecting these horses is never an easy task and it gets harder each year as the racing gets more and more competitive. I collaborated with my buddies Terri Phalen and Jennifer Starr to make the choices, and, although we probably left out horses worthy of acclaim, I think the horses we ultimately selected certainly represent well for this special 50th anniversary season.
So, without further ado, here are the 2015 Pocono Horses of the Year:
3-YEAR-OLD OF THE YEAR: K RYAN BLUE CHIP
This gelding from the Joe Pavia Jr. barn finished fourth on April 8 in a maiden race at MSPD in what was his first start of the 2015 season. As it turns out, it would be the only time he’d have a view of horses crossing the finish line in front of him at Pocono all season. K Ryan Blue Chip raced five more times at Pocono this season and won them all. None of his winning times were slower than 1:51:1, topping out with a career-best 1:50:2 in a September victory.
CLAIMER OF THE YEAR: R GAUWITZ HANOVER
Even before he arrived at Pocono in May, this 6-year-old gelding was already a big winner in 2015, racking up six victories in New York. But it was here that he achieved his greatest success, winning nine of his 14 races at MSPD, 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 here, and managed a career-best mile of 1:49 as part of his unforgettable 2015 campaign at Pocono.
MARE OF THE YEAR: KIDDIE MCCARDLE
This mare has performed for several different barns at Pocono this season but always finds a way to be a factor. She picked up eight wins this season here, including a 1:51:1 mile which set a career-mark for her at age seven. What’s also been impressive is how, like R Gauwitz Hanover, she’s been such a tough customer despite the fact that she’s often faced with brutal post positions in claiming handicaps. And she’s been competitive of late since moving over to face condition pacing mares.
PACER OF THE YEAR: LUCK BE WITHYOU
This four-year-old stallion had the win of the year at Pocono when he topped some of the world’s best pacers to win the $500,000 Ben Franklin pace on July 4 in 1:49, going gate-to-wire from an outside post to do so. But that win wasn’t a shot in the dark. He also scored in the Franklin elimination the week prior to the main event and then returned from a stint in Canada to rip off three straight condition wins for trainer Chris Oakes in September and October.
TROTTER OF THE YEAR: PROUD MOMENT
It’s not typical for a trotter to have the best year of his career at age nine, but that’s exactly what this veteran warrior did in 2015. All six of his wins came at Pocono, and when he wasn’t winning, he was often hitting the board. He beat claimers and conditioners, did it from the outside and the inside, and won his six races for five different trainers. The high point of his outstanding year was a three-race winning streak in July and August that included his career-best mile of 1:52:2.
As I said earlier, there were many horses this season deserving of consideration. It’s a testament to just how intense the racing wars at Pocono are that these selections are such a close call, and I have a feeling that the awards races will only get tighter in the years to come.
Next week in this space, we’ll wrap up the 2015 racing season. We’ll take a look at the top drivers and trainers of the year. And we’ll also take a broad look back at what’s been a special anniversary season at Pocono.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Nov 12, 2015 | Entertainment, Keystone Grand Ballroom, Special Events
Don’t miss your chance to become a castaway in the running for $1 million dollars!
WHAT
Join Mohegan Sun Pocono for a casting call for the CBS hit reality show, Survivor, on Tuesday, December 15th inside the Keystone Grand Ballroom in the Convention Center.
WHEN
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Keystone Grand Ballroom in the Convention Center at Mohegan Sun Pocono
10:00am to 2:00pm
IN DETAIL
Do you have what it takes to outwit, outplay and outlast? You’ll have a chance to find out when CBS’ Survivor holds an open casting call at Mohegan Sun Pocono’s Keystone Grand Ballroom on Tuesday, December 15th from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
Participants may not line up until 7:00am on the morning of the event. Registration begins at 10:00am.
Eligibility requirements and applications are available at http://www.pahomepage.com/survivor-casting-call-2015
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN POCONO
Mohegan Sun Pocono, 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 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 91 live table games, 2,300 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, download our app and view us on YouTube.
Nov 10, 2015 | Food & Beverage, Holiday
Enjoy abundant holiday dining specials on Thursday, November 26th
Be thankful for no cooking and cleaning this Thanksgiving Day, while celebrating your holiday with family and friends at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Mohegan Sun Pocono offers great dining options in its restaurants with delicious turkey dishes and so much more on the menu.
The award-winning Italian Mediterranean-influenced Rustic Kitchen Bistro & Bar will offer a special holiday menu, including:
- Fall Harvest puree soup with crispy sweet potato strings
- Harvest Salad with pears, Craisins, nuts, goat cheese, candied bacon and mixed greens with cranberry vinaigrette
- Traditional roasted turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetable medley and fresh cranberry sauce
- Butternut squash ravioli with a pumpkin sage sauce
Eat, drink and be thankful while enjoying an intimate dining experience surrounded by handcrafted relics and artifacts representing a Tuscan villa. Make your reservation today by calling 570.824.6600.
Enjoy a bountiful Thanksgiving feast that the whole family will love at Timbers Buffet. Open from 11:00am until 8:00pm on Thanksgiving Day, Timbers Buffet will feature traditional holiday favorites, unique specialties and so much more, including:
- Whole roasted turkey
- Bourbon cherry-glazed ham
- Crab cakes with Sriracha remoulade
- Sour cream and chive mashed potatoes
- Mashed sweet potato with caramel pineapple and marshmallow topping
- Traditional Thanksgiving stuffing
- Crab macaroni and cheese with crumb topping
- Ravioli with pumpkin sage cream sauce
- Butternut squash, apple and cranberry risotto with crumbled blue cheese
- New England clam chowder
- Lobster bisque
- Peel and eat shrimp
- And more!
Relax at the end of your day at Betty & Joe’s inside the Food Court at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Purchase a slice of pumpkin pie and enjoy a hot or iced apple cider for half price.
Or, if something cooler is on your mind, visit Ben and Jerry’s inside the Food Court. Buy one hot fudge or caramel sundae and receive a second one for only $1.00 on Thanksgiving Day.
Wetzel’s Pretzels also has a special Thanksgiving Day offer for Mohegan Sun Pocono guests. Buy any pretzel and receive a second one for half price only on Thanksgiving Day.
For additional information, please visit Mohegan Sun Pocono’s website.
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN POCONO:
Mohegan Sun Pocono, 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 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 91 live table games, 2,300 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.
Nov 9, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
In the $24,000 co-featured events at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Saturday night, November 7th, both winners used “pocket rocket” tactics to emerge with victories — Extracurricular on the trot and Arthur Blue Chip on the pace.
Extracurricular, a veteran Revenue S gelding owned by Darren Mahoney, had a tougher time making his rally effective — as befits a 10-1 shot trying to catch a 1-5 pacesetting favorite, Somebody As. But Extracurricular dug in for the stretch battle with gameness and edged his frontstepping rival while taking a new mark of 1:52 at age nine for the brother team of driver Simon and trainer Rene Allard.
Arthur Blue Chip was the 11-10 favorite in his event and collared pacesetting Somethinginthewind with a bit more ease, but then the son of Shadow Play had to stay in high gear to withstand the persistent first-over Ontario Success, whose bid for victory came up a half-length shy. Dr. Ian Moore conditions the winner, who was third in his Breeders Crown elimination last month, for the Shadow One Stable.
George Napolitano Jr., the winningest driver in North American harness racing this season, visited Victory Lane five times on the Saturday card at Pocono
to raise his margin over second-place Aaron Merriman to 22, with the score now Napolitano 743, Merriman 721.
“George Nap” will get a chance to add to his margin Sunday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, but then Merriman will compete on four cards — Northfield Sunday night, The Meadows Monday afternoon and Northfield Monday night, and The Meadows Tuesday afternoon — before Napolitano resumes sulky action here Tuesday night, concurrent with Merriman racing at Northfield.
There are two more weeks of racing in the 2015 season here at The Downs, with the trotters and pacers going on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings this week and next, with the final night November 21.
Nov 6, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
October 31-November 6, 2015
This will be our last article this year that features our Weekly Awards. With only two weeks left in the 2015 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, we’ll close it out the next few weeks by looking back on the season gone past. But, before we do, let’s make these count and hand out the awards to the best of the best in the week that was at Pocono.
PACER OF THE WEEK: PREPARTY
It makes sense that our last Pacer of the Week award goes to a horse from the barn of trainer Rene Allard, since his horses have dominated this column space for most of the season. Yet this particular Allard trainee would have seemed an unlikely choice for these honors a few months back. Preparty, a 4-year-old gelding, had a stretch of three races in August and September at Pocono in which he finished no better than seventh.
On September 18, he returned from a third-place finish at Saratoga to face our $8,500 condition pacers. That’s the lowest level of condition action at the track, so Preparty needed to step up with these or run the risk of an even more prolonged slump. A gate-to-wire win seemed that night reinvigorated him, and he came into Saturday night’s featured $20,000 condition pace having won three out of four, all while moving significantly up the condition ladder from that earlier nadir.
On Saturday night as the even-money favorite, the gelding found a perfect pocket spot as a speed duel raged in front of him. In the stretch, driver Simon Allard guided Preparty into the inside passing lane. From there he overtook Rockin Rumble, a game long shot who battled all the way on the outside only to come up short by a nose. With the victory in 1:52, Preparty now has won two straight and four out of five, and those down times seem like a distant memory.
Other top pacers this week include: Mickey Hanover (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who is now two-for-two at Pocono since returning from New York after a condition win on Saturday night in 1:51; Mr Massimo (George Napolitano Jr., Kevin Reynolds), who continued his late-season torrid streak by moving up in class to win his fourth straight claimer on Saturday night, this one in 1:50:4; and Scandalicious (Marcus Miller, Scott DiDomenico), who captured Wednesday night’s featured distaff condition pace in 1:52:2.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SOMEBODY AS
If you’ve watched any harness racing at all at Pocono over the last two months, you’ve probably noticed that symbol AS showing up at the end of the names of a lot of winning trotters. It’s an abbreviation for an ownership group based in Kentucky who generally uses trainer Anette Lorentzon to condition their horses, usually with outstanding results.
Somebody AS, a 6-year-old gelding, has climbed the highest of these trotters in the Pocono condition ranks. After spending a lot of time this year in Ohio, he shipped in for a $20,000 condition trot on October 3 and pulled off an upset win in the slop in 1:54:4 as a 10-1 shot. He then moved up in class to face the $24,000 condition pacers, acquitting himself well with back-to-back thirds.
On Saturday night, he dropped back down to the $20,000 level. Driver George Napolitano Jr. sent Somebody AS to the front and set nasty fractions, losing the pursuit behind him in the process. Somebody AS ended up seven lengths in front of the rest at the line, trotting the mile in a career-best 1:52:2, the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono by a wide margin and a very impressive number considering the chilly temperatures. Bottom line: when you see that AS name, don’t sleep on the horse’s chances in that particular race.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Code Bon (Simon Allard, Ake Svanstedt), a 3-year-old colt who followed up a win at Lexington with a condition victory on Tuesday night at Pocono in 1:53:2; Musical Rhythm (Marcus Miller, Tony Alagna), a 3-year-old colt who rallied from far back early to score in Tuesday night’s featured condition trot in a career-best 1:56; and Vimy Ridge (Howard Parker, Bill Mullin), who dominated a claiming handicap group on Wednesday night in a career-best 1:53, picking up his second straight victory in the process.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: HOPE FOR BADLANDS
In a condition pace on Tuesday night, this gelding with Andrew McCarthy blew by his competitors late as a 38-1 long shot to pay off a hefty $79.80 on a $2 win ticket.
In lieu of driver and trainer of the week awards this week, I’d like to take a moment to salute our entire community of drivers and trainers. The balance among the drivers and trainers community has been incredible all year long. Tuesday night was typical: 10 different drivers won at least one race and the 16 victories on the care were divvied up among 15 different trainers. It’s never been as competitive at Pocono, and the ladies and gentlemen doing the driving and training are a big reason why. Nice job, folks.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Nov 4, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
Somebody As and Hyway Marcus each took a $20,000 division of the trotting feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Saturday night, October 31st, while in the $20,000 pacing headliner, Preparty emerged as the narrowest of winners.
Between the trots, Somebody As had by far the faster time, 1:52.2, a new lifetime mark, leading at every pole and winning by seven lengths. George Napolitano Jr., who continued to hold a 15-win lead over Aaron Merriman in the 2015 North American sulky title chase, guided the altered son of Striking Sahbra for trainer Anette Lorentzon and his owners, breeder ACL Stuteri and Kjell Johansson.
Hyway Marcus won for the third time in his last six starts while taking the other trot division, also setting a personal best of 1:54.1. Driver/trainer/owner Francisco Del Cid used come-from-behind tactics with the gelded son of Gut Instinct, coming from seventh at the half and fifth at the 3/4s to defeat Stitch In Time by a neck.
Preparty, a former high-level pacer who had dropped all the way to the very bottom rung of the Pocono class ladder on September 16, continued his comeback by taking his fourth win in his last five starts, here in 1:52. The gelded son of Somebeachsomewhere rallied from the pocket to edge out the game parked-every-call Rockin Rumble by a nose for driver Simon Allard, trainer/brother Rene, and the ownership of Allard Racing Inc. and Earl Hill Jr.
And of course it wouldn’t be Halloween without Pocono staging The Grey Ghost and Poltergeist Pace, for grey or roan horses. The $10,000 race was taken by the Admirals Galley gelding Gotta Love Him, who made the lead after the quarter for driver Matt Kakaley and went on to post his first victory of the year in 1:53 for trainer Cindy Weitoish and owners Stan and Amie Weitosh.
Nov 3, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
October 24-30, 2015
As we head into the final month of the 2015 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, it’s fun to look back and contemplate what an assemblage of equine talent we were lucky to see this year. As Pocono has ascended in the past decade to become one of the finest tracks in the country, the world’s top standardbreds often make the track an important part of their racing itineraries.
This past Saturday at Woodbine in Canada, the Breeders Crown races, which Pocono has hosted twice before and which serve as the unofficial yearend championships for harness racing’s various divisions, were held. And several of the big winners also spent a little time at MSPD this year, with varying levels of success.
Four of the twelve Breeders Crown champions from Saturday night raced at Pocono at some point this past year. (Two others, Open pacing champ Always B Miki and 2-year-old pacing colt Boston Red Rocks qualified here but never raced under the lights.) So let’s turn our focus to that quartet of big winners, particularly in the context of their 2015 performances at Pocono.
We start with Pure Country, who added an exclamation point to a wondrous debut racing season with her two-year-old pacing win at the Breeders Crown. The Jimmy Takter trainee has won every one of her ten career starts, so she’s been impossible to beat no matter what tracks she frequents. Still there’s a sentimental connection to Pocono, because it was here that she made her racing debut on June 30 in a Pennsylvania All Stars race.
Needless to say, she won that race. She returned in August to pick up another victory, this time against Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition. This unbelievable unbeaten streak seems likely to continue into her three-year-old campaign next year, at which point we can only hope she returns to the scene of her introduction to the racing public.
Another Jimmy Takter trainee who made his mark at Pocono before busting onto the larger scene is The Bank. For much of the season, this 3-year-old colt came up short behind his more highly-touted stablemate Pinkman. This included his first Pocono appearance on August 22, when he finished 2nd in the $500,000 Colonial behind a typically brilliant Pinkman performance.
But two weeks later it was The Bank’s turn to take the spotlight in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. With Pinkman not in the field, The Bank went from understudy to star that night, scoring a decisive win in 1:53:1. And maybe that was all the confidence he needed, because he outtrotted his old buddy Pinkman to pull off the upset victory on Saturday.
Wild Honey has had some of the finest moments of her racing career at Pocono oval. The 3-year-old filly won the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship at the track as a 2-year-old in 2014, then defended her title this year with a rallying win. That more than made up for a loss as a 1-9 favorite to Smokin Mambo in a preliminary leg of the Sire Stakes at Pocono in June.
But then again, Wild Honey knows a thing or two about atoning for losses. Last year she was the dominant 2-year-old filly in the division but she broke stride in the Breeders Crown, an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise brilliant season. Her three-year-old year has been brilliant as well, but she was the second choice behind Mission Brief in the Breeders Crown finals on Saturday. This time it was Mission Brief going off stride, leaving Wild Honey to pick up the title that eluded her a year ago.
The example of Divine Caroline, a three-year-old pacing filly from the barn of trainer Joe Holloway, shows how fortunes can change, even within the relatively short span of a racing season. The filly raced at Pocono twice in June. In the James M Lynch Memorial elimination, she finished second. She followed that up the next week by finishing sixth in the final won by Bettor Be Steppin.
But the month of October has belonged to her, with four straight victories. The last of those victories came in the Breeders Crown final on Saturday, as she handled a field that included Bettor Be Steppin and a few others who competed in the Lynch way back when, a complete turnaround from the way it all worked out for her in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
So maybe Divine Caroline doesn’t have the fondest memories of the Pocono oval. By contrast, the Pocono faithful can look back happily at these four champions and know that the road to harness racing immortality went right through their backyard.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
