Feb 14, 2014 | Racing
A double-header on Kentucky Derby Day and an additional day per week of racing in July and August are two of the changes in the new Pocono racing schedule for 2014, as announced by Vice President of Racing Operations, Dale Rapson.
Racing opens at the renowned 5/8 mile oval in Wilkes Barre, PA on March 22, and for the first few months of the new season, (March through June), will take place on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Kicking off the stakes schedule on opening night will be the Bobby Weiss Late Closing Series for 3 and 4 year olds, named for the beloved former Director of Track Maintenance. Bobby retired in 2011, and was responsible for the record-breaking track surface that is maintained today. The finals for the series will take place starting April 19, and conclude on April 23.
The prestigious Sun Stakes Saturday is planned for Saturday, June 28th, and will feature the Earl Beal, Jr. Memorial 3-year-old Trot; the James Lynch 3-year-old Filly Pace; the Max Hempt 3-year-old Colt & Gelding Pace; and the Ben Franklin Free For All Pace. Eliminations will take place on Saturday, June 21st.
For the summer months of July and August, an extra day has been added. The race days will move to Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The track will race Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday September through closing in November. There will be no live racing the week of September 8th for the annual Oktoberfest celebration.
Kentucky Derby Day, May 3rd,, traditionally a huge celebration of racing and partying, will also boast a double-header with two Pocono live race cards. Post Time for the first card will be at 11 a.m., and the second will be immediately following the 140th running of the Derby. In between, there will be the Run for the Roses Hat Review and a huge party on the track apron. Live racing will immediately follow the second and third legs of the Triple Crown, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Post Time for all racing nights is 6:30 p.m., with the season concluding on Saturday, November 22.
Sep 22, 2012 | Racing
September 14-20, 2012
We had only two nights of live racing this past week at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, so the Weekly Awards will have to take a little hiatus until next week. Instead, I thought we’d play a little game of “Where Are They Now?”
If you’re like me, you’re fascinated by all those shows which reveal the whereabouts of celebrities from yesteryear who haven’t stayed in the limelight. Only in our case, the celebrities are of the four-legged variety, particularly those horses who won the four major stakes races at Pocono this season.
What this little exercise should show is just how good those four horses are and that their moments in the spotlight at Pocono were indicative of the way that they’ve performed at other tracks around the country. It should also show that the MSPD stakes schedule, with its hefty purses attached, now attracts the best of the best in the harness racing world.
Our first major stakes race of the season, the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial Trot for 3-year-olds on June 23, was a coming out party for the amazing Googoo Gaagaa. Up to that point, he had been a regional phenomenon for trainer Richard Hans in his home state of Maryland, but his ridiculous win in 1:50:4 in the Beal seemed to serve notice that he was the best sophomore trotter in the nation.
His skeptics had plenty to crow about when he went off stride in his following starts at Yonkers and The Meadowlands. Hans sent him back to Maryland for a confidence-building win in Maryland, then returned him to the fray to face the best of the best, including Hambletonian champ Market Share, in the Colonial at Harrah’s on August 18. Googoo Gaagaa proved definitively that the Beal was no fluke that day, whipping his competition for a victory in 1:52:1.
On June 30, we witnessed one of the sport’s true superstars as 3-year-old filly pacer American Jewel rolled in the final of the James Lynch Memorial stakes. That put her career record at 12 wins in 14 tries, meaning the filly didn’t know much about defeat. She would find out in her next three starts, hitting the board in consecutive stakes races at The Meadowlands, Tioga, and Harrah’s, but failing to pick up a victory in any of those tough battles.
When you’re a filly with as much talent as American Jewel, the near-misses just aren’t going to cut it. That’s why trainer Jimmy Takter had to be pleased when she righted herself with a win in her last start in Canada in the Simcoe stakes. With that win in tow, she appears to be in prime shape for the upcoming Breeders Crown.
When A Rocknroll Dance headed into the Max Hempt Memorial for 3-year-old pacers at Pocono on June 30, he was in the midst of a slump. As a result, despite an outstanding 2-year-old campaign in 2011, the colt from the Jim Mulinix barn went off as a 17-1 shot. He found his stride that day, however, buzzing by the leaders late to pull off the upset.
Buoyed by his win in the Hempt, the colt has since moved into the upper echelon of 3-year-old pacers in the country. A win in the prestigious Meadowlands Pace solidified that standing, and his victory in the Battle of the Brandywine at Harrah’s in August was one of the signature performances of the racing season.
Has there been a better pacer in the country this year than the amazing Betterthancheddar? Trained by Casie Coleman, the 4-year-old put together a thrilling, front-pacing win in the Ben Franklin free-for-all pace at Pocono on June 30, matching the track’s fastest ever pacing time with a mile of 1:48. Coleman then took him back to Canada for three straight victories.
Betterthancheddar was upset by the great Foiled Again in the Canadian Derby at Mohawk, but he quickly bounced back to beat that horse and other top pacers in the Bobby Quiller Memorial at Harrington on September 17. He has legitimate Horse of the Year aspirations.
So, as you can see, the horses that have made their mark at Pocono have gone on to perform with excellence at their subsequent destinations. Maybe we shouldn’t be asking, “Where are they now?” after all. Maybe the proper question is, “What will they do next?”
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
Jun 24, 2012 | Racing
June 23, 2012
On a night when three track records and two world records had already been established at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Googoo Gaagaa needed to come up with something special to steal the show.
How does the fastest mile ever on a 5/8-mile oval work for you?
Googoo Gaagaa trotted an unreal 1:50:4 to win the $500,000 Earl Beal Memorial Jr. trot on Saturday night. The performance capped off an amazing night of action that saw pacers and trotters scorching the Pocono oval all night long.
Googoo Gaagaa came into the night having set a world record for 3-year-old colts on the trot of 1:51:3 in last week’s Beal elimination. In the final, the colt who is owned and trained by Richard Hans of Maryland, made his move on the front stretch to take the lead from Stormin Normand.
Nobody else made a serious threat to the top two, and Stormin Normand made a charge in the stretch, pulling up to about a half-length away. But driver Corey Callahan, who’s been aboard for all of Googoo Gaagaa’s 2012 victories, urged him home to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Little Brown Fox finished a distant 3rd. The fractional times were 27:1, 55:2, and 1:22:3, leading to the amazing winning time of 1:50:4, which shattered the world record for trotters of all ages on the 5/8-mile oval, which was the 1:51 mile posted by Arch Madness at Pocono in 2010.
In the winner’s circle, Callahan described Googoo Gaagaa’s legendary performance by saying, “He’s just a machine. He’s a professional in every sense of the word.” Callahan also had encouraging words for Hans, who was unsure how he fit in on the big stage, telling him, “You belong here, and he proved tonight that he does.”
Googoo Gaagaa now has an amazing record of 11 wins in 12 races, with his only loss coming earlier this season when he went off-stride at Harrah’s. Sired by Cam’s Rocket, a pacer, the colt pushed his career earnings to $345,945 as he heads to the Yonkers Trot.
The record-setting began at Pocono in the first elimination for the Ben Franklin, a free-for-all pace which Pocono will host for the first time next week. George Brennan drove Aracache Hanover, trained by Gregg McNair, to the Pocono all-time mark for aged pacing stallions with a victory in 1:48:1. The previous mark of 1:48:2 was set by Vlos in 2010 and matched by Transcending this May. From that elimination, Meirs Hanover (2nd), Bettor Sweet (3rd), Clear Vision (4th), and Razzle Dazzle (5th) also made the Franklin final.
In the second elimination, Bettarthancheddar, with Brennan in the bike again, this time for Casie Coleman, chased down We Will See late for a victory in 1:48:3. Along with Bettarthancheddar and We Will See, 3rd-place Foiled Again and 4th-place Rockincam are headed to the Franklin final.
In the second elimination for the Max C. Hempt Memorial, a 3-year-old open pace, Hurrikane Kingcole powered to a romping win in 1:48:1, breaking Shadow Play’s track record of 1:48:2 and matching the world record for 3-year-old colts on a 5/8-mile oval. From that split, I Like Dreamin and Hillbilly Hanover, who finished 2nd and 3rd, will race in next week’s final.
The first Hempt split was captured by I Fought Dalaw, with David Miller in the bike for Sam DePinto, in 1:49:3. One Through Ten and Mc Attaboy made the final by finishing second and third in that split. Bolt The Duer, with Mark MacDonald driving for Peter Foley, won the final Hempt split in 1:48:3. All Star Legend, who finished second in that split, and A Rocknroll Dance, who finished 3rd, are headed to the Hempt final next week.
The night’s final record came courtesy of American Jewel, the star 3-year-old filly trained by Jimmy Takter. With Tetrick in the bike, she captured her elimination for the James M. Lynch Memorial stakes for 3-year-old pacing fillies in 1:49:2. That’s a new Pocono mark for the age group, breaking the 1:49:3 staandard set by the great Southwind Tempo, and matches the world record on a 5/8-mile oval. Joining her in next week’s Lynch final from her split are Economy Terror, Marty Party, Lightning Paige, and Destiny’s Chance, who finished 2nd through 5th, respectively, in the race.
In the night’s other Lynch elimination, Darena Hanover, with Yannick Gingras in the bike for Ron Burke, scored in 1:50:2. Her fellow finalists are Sarandon Blue Chip (2nd), Shelliscape (3rd), and Major Look (4th.)
The finals for the Ben Franklin, Hempt, and Lynch will all take place in a mega-card on Saturday night, June 30 at Pocono, with approximately $1.6 million on the line during the night.
