Jun 1, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Holiday, Hot Summer Fun, Racing, Special Events
WHAT 
End your Independence Day weekend with a bang with a July 5th fireworks extravaganza at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
WHEN
Sunday, July 5th
Fireworks begin at approximately 9:30pm, following live racing
IN DETAIL
Mohegan Sun Pocono is helping you celebrate Independence Day weekend with a bang, with a fireworks extravaganza scheduled for approximately 9:30pm on Sunday, July 5th. Free and open to all ages, the fireworks will immediately follow an action-packed night of harness racing which starts at 6:30pm.
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.
May 24, 2015 | Racing
Triple Crown fever is striking everywhere, and anticipation is high for American Pharoah’s bid on Saturday, June 6th with the Belmont Stakes.
With a big celebration planned for Belmont Stakes Saturday, the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono is excited to announce that jockey Victor Espinoza will be appearing for autographs and photos on Tuesday, June 2 from 3:30pm to 5:00pm in the Racing Lobby. This is a wristband-only event, and fans may obtain their wristband starting at 1:00pm, with a very limited amount available.
Only the authorized photo, which will be distributed at the signing, will be autographed, and a professional photographer will be on hand for photos, which will then be posted on the Mohegan Sun Pocono Facebook page for sharing.
Belmont Stakes Saturday will be a huge party, with live harness racing at 3:30pm until 5:00pm, and 12 additional races immediately following the 147th Belmont Stakes. Food trucks; the “Belmont Breeze” in souvenir glasses; and plenty of bars with ice cold beverages will be on the apron for the fans to enjoy in anticipation of post time and history in the making. American Pharoah merchandise will be for sale on the apron as well.
Victor Espinoza has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes three times, riding War Emblem in 2002; California Chrome in 2014; and American Pharoah this year. As of this date, he is the first jockey in history to enter the Belmont Stakes with a third opportunity to win the Triple Crown.
May 22, 2015 | Battle of the Bands, Breakers, Entertainment
Band awarded $10,000 grand prize
WILKES-BARRE, PA (May 22, 2015) – At the long-a
waited grand finale on Thursday, May 21st, Rock/Alternative band Stealing Neil was crowned the winner of Mohegan Sun Pocono’s 5th Battle of the Bands at Breakers, and awarded the $10,000 grand prize.
Founded in 2004, Stealing Neil has cultivated a devoted and ever-growing following thanks to the diverse talents of the band’s current lineup including lead singer and guitarist R.J. Scouton, lead guitarist Jared Scavone, rhythm guitarist Pauly Young, drummer Tony Scavone and bassist/vocalist Bruce Christian. The band’s set list is wide-ranging, thanks to the members’ eclectic and varied musical influences of Grunge, Country, Classic Rock and Hair Metal.
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th place winners of the event were Nowhere Slow, Coast 2 Coast and Facing the Giants, and each was also awarded a cash prize.
To learn more about Stealing Neil and their future shows, visit facebook.com/stealing.neil.
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.
May 19, 2015 | Racing
For a track with a 47.8% winning favorites rate heading into Sunday’s program, May 17th, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono offered some tasty win mutuels on well-pedigreed horses in the first three of the four $20,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for three-year-old pacing colts.
The chalkplayers finally had their moment in the spotlight in the fourth and final division, and even in that event favored Parklane Eagle had a couple of anxious moments before winning in a personal best 1:51 for driver David Miller and trainer Peter Foley. The son of Somebeachsomewhere, owned by Shirley Le Vin, had controlled the early pace with fractions of 26.4 and 55.1, but 47-1 shot Kwik Mac gave the frontstepper something to think about as he got to within a neck at the 1:23.1 3/4s. Parklane Eagle shrugged off that challenge though, and by the wire he had that rival 3¾ lengths in arrears of him.
Hall of Fame driver Miller also brought in the “best bet for the odds” winner of the four, a horse with impeccable connections making his first start of the year for trainer Jim Campbell. Gallic Beach is a son of Somebeachsomewhere out of Western Gallie, whose dam Galleria (herself a champion racemare) has also produced the unlucky Gallie Bythe Sea, a Breeders Crown elimination winner at two and three who through misfortune got to start in neither final. And Gallic Beach was ready right out of the box, setting the pace and blazing home in 54.3 to earn a new speed badge of 1:51.4 for owner/breeder Fashion Farms LLC – and returning a generous $15.40.
Sire Somebeachsomwhere had a third Stallion Series winner in Guantanamo Bay, who overcame the first-over route to hang a head loss on Jo Pa’s Well Said, flying late after coming from sixth at the half, to take a new mark of 1:52 for driver Mike Simons, at 11-1 odds, highest return on the four winners. Trainer Fred Grant, a native of Nova Scotia, conditions the winner for owners from his native province, James Bagnell and Ann Smith.
It’s rare to get 5-1 at Pocono on the track’s eight-time driving champion George Napolitano Jr., and even rarer if “GNap” is teaming with top trainer Chris Oakes. But the backers of the McArdle gelding Mckenry got just such a windfall in his division, as the pacesetting winner got a nontaxing half in 57, then flew home in 55 for “GNap” to hold off “ANap” (his brother Anthony) and hard-charging Angelo J Fra by a half-length, with the 1:52 final package giving each series winner a rewritten speed mark. Mckenry won for Susan Oakes, Conrad Zurich, Hauser Brothers Racing Enterprises, and the Wheelhouse Racing Stable.
The Stallion Series’ four winners reflect the purpose of Pennsylvania’s ”little brother” to the Sire Stakes – it gives a chance for horses not quite yet at the top a chance to race competitively for good money. Parkland Eagle had three lifetime wins coming into his race – which was the exact total of the other three winners combined. But after four miles in 1:52 or better, one of more of the visitors to Victory Lane Sunday at The Downs could be stepping up to battle the “big boys” as they develop.
May 19, 2015 | Racing
Trainer Brian Brown, trainer of 2014 divisional and Jugette champion Color’s A Virgin and a resident of Delaware OH, may be having himself a two-day party late this September at the famed half-miler, as he already has five different Pennsylvania Sire Stakes-winning three-year-old pacing horses, three fillies and now the two colts who continued the hot trainer’s winning ways Saturday night, May 16th, at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, being among the four winners in the $226,168 first leg of their Sires action.
As the track turned “sloppy” for the fifth race Sires division (Pocono is about 150 miles northeast of Baltimore as the crow flies, and the Preakness rain started about two hours before the storms hit northeast PA), Rise Up Now remained undefeated in five outings this year, tucking in the pocket down the back and then catching leader Blood Brother in the stretch to post a 1½-length 1:51.3 over a newly-christened “sloppy” track. Blood Brother had snapped off splits of 26.1, 55.3, and 1:22.2, but the 53 usage in the odd-numbered quarters did not allow him to hold off the Somewheresomebeach gelding and driver Simon Allard, who piloted the Brown trainee for King McNamara of Florida, the only non-Buckeye in the ownership group which includes the Strollin Stable, William Robinson, and Country Club Acres.
Brown is now two-for-two seasonally with the Well Said colt Lost For Words, who reclaimed the lead down the backstretch, opened up four lengths turning for home, then held off the late charge of the game little Allbeef N Nobull to win by 1½ lengths in 1:51.4 in the night’s second division, when the track was still “fast.” Lost For Words, a finalist in both the Governors Cup and Breeders Crown last year, was driven by Jim Morrill Jr. for the three Ohioans who share in Rise Up Now’s ownership and another Buckeye, Richard Lombardo.
For years Brown has done very well in the Pennsylvania program, but this year his numbers are only slightly short of unbelievable. He’s perfect in five Pocono starts, and at The Meadows he sports a 13-9-3-0 tally, for a Keystone State total of 18-14-3-0 – which produces a mind-boggling state UTR of .870!
McArdles Lightning teamed with driver Anthony Napolitano to post a 6-1 upset in taking the first division, coming from last at the half in the seven-horse field and blitzing his own back two quarters in 54.2 to equal his lifetime mark of 1:51. Steve Elliott conditions the McArdle ridgling (double thoroughbred Triple Crown racewinner American Pharoah is also a ridgling) for the Lightning Stable.
In the final Sires heat, Wazikashi Hanover was a pocket rocket in catching last year’s 2YO Sires champion, Yankee Bounty, by 1¼ lengths, with the time on the sloppy track 1:52. Yankee Bounty overcame the outside “eight-ball” to post splits of 27, 57, and 1:24.4, but “Wazikashi,” a Dragon Again gelding, was relentless and gained into the 27.1 kicker for trainer Joann Looney-King and the Tri County Stable. Driver Jim Morrill Jr. joined trainer Brown as a double winner in the Sires races.
May 19, 2015 | Racing
May 9-15, 2015
Next week, the action at Pocono really kicks into another gear with our first Sire Stakes action of the season and our first Open pacing and trotting events for the meet. This past week was no slouch though, thanks to Pennsylvania All Stars action and some thrilling overnight racing. Let’s take a look at which horses and horsemen stood above all in the past four racing nights by handing out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DYNAMIC YOUTH
It’s good sometimes to have a long memory when you’re trying to handicap a race. Take the case of Dynamic Youth in Saturday night’s condition pace for non-winners of $15,000 in the last five starts. The 6-year-old gelding from the Aaron Lambert barn had won his previous start against lower company in a solid effort in 1:51:1.
Saturday night represented a step up the condition ladder though, and considering he had finished ninth in a lower group at The Meadowlands, the morning line oddsmaker, who shall remain nameless (although his name rhymes with Schmim Schmeviglia), decided to tag him with odds of 6-1. The betting public, however, who likely remembered how many classic miles this one has put together in the past at Pocono, bet him down to a 4-5 favorite.
The fans were right. With George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, Dynamic Youth took charge early and powered through the second half of the mile, keeping his competition at bay for a victory in 1:50:1. Maybe he just needed to be back at his old haunts, or maybe he just needed the backing of the faithful. Whatever the case, Dynamic Youth is back on top of his game with two straight victories, so underestimate him at your own peril.
Other top pacers this week include: Rose Run Quest (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who, even after a barn switch, picked up his third straight condition pacing win on Tuesday night in 1:52:3, which was a new career mark for him; A J Corbelli (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who rolled to his second straight condition win on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:50:3; and Caviart Shelley (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who moved up in class and still won her third straight condition pace on Wednesday night, matching her career mark of 1:51:4 in the process.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: ALI DE VIE
This 5-year-old gelding loves to race at Pocono. Coming into his start on Wednesday night in a $12,500 to $15,000 claiming handicap, he had won four races in a row when he was at the Pocono oval. Sprinkled in that stretch were a pair of struggling performances at Harrah’s at Philadelphia, so maybe the right thing to do would be to keep this one here until somebody knocks him off.
After wins the past two weeks for trainer Rene Allard, Ali De Vie was claimed and joined the barn of Jenny Melander for his start on Wednesday night. Leaving from post position #2 in a field of nine, the gelding sat in fourth early on as Browner Shuttle set the pace. Driver Jim Morrill Jr. waited for an opening and then sent Ali De Vie on a first-over journey on the back stretch.
Although he found no cover to help him out, Ali De Vie corralled Browner Shuttle at the top of the stretch. Once he had the lead, he had to deal with Fall Creek Bandit, who had an excellent trip in the pocket and was coming up the passing lane. But Morrill and Ali De Vie had just enough to hold him off and win it in 1:55:3. That makes three wins in a row overall and five for his last five at Pocono. This horse truly loves this course.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: P L Eureka (George Napolitano Jr., John Barchi), whose claiming handicap victory on Wednesday night in 1:54:2 was his fourth in his last five; Sentry (Larry Stalbaum, Jenny Melander), who snuck up the inside late on Saturday night for an upset win in the week’s top condition trot in 1:54, which matched a career-best; and Picture This (Charlie Norris driver and trainer), who rolled to a condition victory on Tuesday night in 1:53:3, the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: CANE RIDGE
Driver Joe Pavia Jr. worked out a pocket trip for this pacer on Saturday night and he rallied to win a claiming handicap at 45-1, paying out $92.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JOE PAVIA JR.
Pavia only recently returned to driving duties, but he made his presence felt on Saturday night with ba pair of victories, including the huge long shot Cane Ridge.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: MARK KESMODEL
Talk about efficiency: Kesmodel sent out three starters at Pocono al week, two on Saturday and one on Wednesday, and every one of the three came back to the barn a winner.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
May 18, 2015 | Entertainment, Special Events
Grammy Award winners to perform on August 1st
Iconic Rock legends, The Doobie Brothers, are “Takin’ it to the Streets” with a stop on their nationwide tour at Mohegan Sun Pocono
’s Keystone Grand Ballroom on Saturday, August 1, 2015. This can’t-miss show will include classic songs and new recordings and is sure to be an unforgettable performance for fans of all ages.
Tickets are $80, $50 and $30 and will go on sale on Friday, May 22nd at 10:00am through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may purchase tickets by logging on to ticketmaster.com; calling Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number at 1.800.745.3000; or visiting any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets will also be available for purchase, free of service fees, at the Mohegan Sun Pocono Box Office.
The Doobie Brothers’ numerous Top 10 hits span more than four decades and include “Black Water,” “What a Fool Believes” and “Rockin’ Down the Highway.” Throughout their career, the legendary rockers have sold over 40 million multi-platinum, platinum and gold albums, been recipients of four Grammy Awards and continue to write and record new material and tour the world. In 2014, some of Country music’s biggest stars joined them in new recordings of the band’s classic hits for their album Southbound, released by Arista Nashville. The Doobie Brothers boast one of the largest and most loyal fan bases in Rock music and this new venture into the Country music genre is surely set to introduce a new generation to their infectious music and classic sing-a-longs.
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.
May 18, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing, Special Events, Sports
WHAT: 
As part of their yearlong 50th anniversary racing celebration, Mohegan Sun Pocono is pleased to announce that Bernie Parent, Dave Schultz and Bob Kelly of the legendary 1976 Philadelphia Flyers will be greeting fans and signing autographs on Saturday, May 30th.
WHEN:
Saturday, May 30th
4:00pm to 6:00pm
(Wristbands required; distribution begins at 1:00pm)
Sky Bridge at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono
Free event
IN DETAIL:
Known as one of the best hockey teams of all time, the Philadelphia Flyers of the early 1970s were well-renowned for their aggressive defensive tactics and great skill, which helped them to win two consecutive Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975.
Bernie Parent was the All-Star goalie that led the team to the two consecutive Stanley Cup titles, and was selected Most Valuable Player of both series. Parent was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.
Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, a rugged winger, was known as the enforcer of the team. In the 1973-74 season, Schultz accumulated 348 penalty minutes and in the 1974-75 season he accrued an astounding 472 penalty minutes, which today remains the NHL record for a single season. Schultz had amazing scoring abilities, scoring twenty goals during the 1973-74 season.
Bob Kelly was the aggressive left-winger and scored the game-winning goal to secure the Flyers’ second Stanley Cup championship in 1975. Along with Schultz, Kelly was one of the team’s top defensive enforcers.
**Note: This is a wristband-only event. Wristbands will be distributed starting at 1:00pm. Only authorized photos will be signed, and will be distributed at
event, free of charge.
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.
May 18, 2015 | Racing
Yagonnakissmeornot, benefiting from her versatility and the hot team of driver Simon Allard and trainer/brother Rene, moved off second-over cover to catch pacesetting Ooh Bad Shark and record a half-length victory in a $30,000 mares open handicap pace Wednesday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Coming off a win in the Chip Noble Pace at Miami Valley and a second in the Blue Chip Final at Yonkers before that, Yagonnakissmeornot left from post seven in the eight-horse field and tucked fifth early as Ooh Bad Shark assumed the lead after the 26.4 quarter and posted middle splits of 55.2 and 1:23. Simon Allard had the daughter of The Panderosa in high gear midway on the final turn, and by midstretch it was apparent that the winner would catch the frontstepper, and she did in 1:50.3, with “Kiss”’s own last half 54.2 over an oval not known to be favorable to closers.
Yagonnakissmeornot, now a career winner of $971,366, paid $4.20 in winning for Allard Racing Inc, Yves Sarrazin, and Kapildeo Singh; second choice Anndrovette, assigned the outside post eight, had traffic trouble and finished off the board.
May 18, 2015 | Racing
Delaware OH resident Brian Brown is the defending training titleholder in the Jugette, having won last year with divisional champion Color’s A Virgin – and he’s giving every sign that he’s looking to take his second straight come September 23.
In a 3PF Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at The Meadows last week, Brown sent out winner Serious Filly along with second-place finishers Somewhere Sweet and Triple V Hanover. So for Sunday, May 10th, in the $128,000 Pennsylvania All-Stars divisional event at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Brown decides to keep out Serious Filly but enter the other two – and those fillies accounted for half the four All-Stars divisions, with both handled for Brown by Hall of Famer David Miller, the all-time leading driver at Delaware.
First up was Somewhere Sweet, like her stablemate a daughter of Somebeachsomewhere, whom Miller rallied from the pocket into a 55 back half to take a head decision over pacesetting Southwind Roulette, last year’s Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion, in 1:52, a new mark, for Miller’s Stable Inc. of Kentucky.
Then it was Triple V Hanover’s turn, and that filly tucked, brushed to the lead by the 55 half, and went on to win by 1¼ lengths in 1:50.3, also a personal best and by far the fastest of the four All-Stars divisions. King Mcnamara of FL and the Strollin Stable of OH, part of the partnership behind Brown’s All-Star colt winner Rise Up Now last night, share ownership in the victorious miss with Buckeye Donald Robinson.
Doctor Terror, who made a break in the Sire Stakes last week, atoned this week from the outermost post seven in her cut, making the lead past the quarter and coming home in 55 to win by a neck over Storm Point, a Sires winner last week, while lowering her personal best to 1:52.3. The daughter of Western Terror is owned by two Ontarians, trainer Blake Macintosh and Stuart Macintosh, and had another “Mac” in her corner — driver Mark Macdonald.
In the other divisions Arts Jem, beaten a neck by Serious Filly last week, enjoyed the lack of Brown competition, rallying quickly deep in the Pocono Pike, two inside the pacesetter, to edge Macarena Mama, in the Pike to her right, in a mark of 1:52.1. The Art Official miss stepped her personal back half in 54.3 to win for trainer Jim King Jr. and two Lincoln Staters, driver Tim Tetrick and the CC Racing LLC of Ray Kusinski.
