Jun 17, 2012 | Racing
June 15, 2012
3-year-old trotting colt Googoo Gaagaa rolled to a victory in world record time in an elimination race for the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial Trot on Friday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried a purse of $25,000.
In the first of two eliminations, Googoo Gaagaa, who came into the start with nine wins in ten career races, made the lead with a swooping move around the first turn after leaving from post position #6 in the seven-horse field. Driver Corey Callahan never had to ask the 3-year-old son of Cam’s Rocket for anything extra because he sped away from his pursuit all on his own, winning by seven lengths. Little Brown Fox was best of the rest in second, while Frost Bites K and Magic Tonight finished third and fourth to punch their tickets to next week’s final.
The fractional times for the record-setting mile were 27 even, 56 even, and 1:23:3, and the winning time was 1:51:3, nearly a full second better than the track and world record for the age group. That mark of 1:52:2 was set by Break The Bank K in the 2010 Breeders Crown at Pocono and was matched by Dejarmbro in last year’s Beal final. Googoo Gaagaa, who was favored at 3-5, is owned and trained by Richard Hans and has now won 10 of 11 starts with lifetime earnings of 95,945 heading into next week’s final.
In the second elimination, Stormin Normand avenged a loss to Uncle Peter by holding him off late for a victory. With Dave Palone in the bike, Stormin Normand, the 2011 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Champion for the age group, moved from third to first on the front stretch and led from that point on. Uncle Peter, the Breeders Crown champion in 2011 as a 2-year-old who beat Stormin Normand in their first meeting at The Meadows on May 30, got off to a slow start and had to move four-wide on the final turn, but he was motoring at the end and finished just a half-length back for the place. Also headed to the final from this elimination are My MVP, who finished third, Lightning Storm, who finished fourth, and Nothing But Class, who finished fifth with a faster time than Solvato, the fifth-place finisher from the earlier split.
The winning time for Stormin Normand was 1:51:4, denied world-record status only by Googoo Gaagaa’s mile earlier in the night. With wins in seven of his nine lifetime starts, Stormin Normand, who is trained by Jim Campbell and was sired by Broadway Hall, now has career earnings of $305,085.
Next week’s Beal final at Pocono will carry a purse of $500,000.
May 22, 2012 | Racing
May 19, 2012
Anyone wondering if Sweet Lou still has the magic that carried him to a record-setting 2011 season as a 2-year-old probably had their questions answered on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
Making his 2012 debut, the pride of the Burke barn coasted to a win in a $106,113 division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings on the pace. Sweet Lou romped by 3 ¾ lengths in 1:49:3 without breaking a sweat.
Driver Dave Palone sent the son of Yankee Cruiser to the front of the pack at the 3/8-mile marker and he was never seriously challenged from that point. Palone kept him under wraps for most of the mile, cutting Sweet Lou loose in the stretch to close in 26:4 just to show his fellow competitors they never had a chance. Hillbilly Hanover finished 2nd and Mc Attaboy got the show.
The win makes it 11 victories in 13 career starts for Sweet Lou, who won the Breeders Crown championship at Woodbine in October in World Record time to cap his amazing 2-year-old campaign. The winner’s share of the purse puts his career earnings at $739,703.
In other Sire Stakes action, Mcerlean parlayed a pocket trip and the passing lane into a victory in the first division. Dave Palone did the driving for trainer John Berger, as Mcerlean, making his second start of the 2012, upended pacesetting favorite Easy Again in the stretch to win by a half-length in a career-best 1:50:1. All Week finished 3rd.
In the second split, Dapper Dude, who won at Woodbine in his 2012 debut, followed that up with a late-kicking Sire Stakes victory. John Campbell was in the bike for trainer Robert McIntosh, as Dapper Dude won by a half-length in 1:49:4. Shady Breeze finished second and Cold Hearted Shark gained the show.
Nov 10, 2011 | Racing
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs
2011 Season Review
Well, here we are at the conclusion of another season of racing at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. We got started all the way back on March 22, and we’ll close things out on Saturday night, November 12. It seems like we just got underway, but, instead, it’s time to wrap things up.
As the track announcer at Pocono, I have the best seat in the house for all of the racing action. This was my fourth year in the booth, and I’ve been employed here since 1997 in some capacity or other. The changes that I’ve witnessed have been truly been monumental, but nothing has changed nearly as much, all for the positive, as the quality of racing.
I think that coming into the 2011 season at Pocono, there might have been a sense that a letdown could be in the offing. After all, MSPD hosted the Breeders Crown, harness racing’s night of champions, back in 2010, and there was seemingly nothing on the schedule that could match the brilliance of that event.
It turns out that 2011 at MSPD was a constant series of highlights, with one incendiary performance leading to another. All you need to do is look at the track records page in the program to get confirmation of this. Of the 24 different categories of track records, based on age, gender, and gait, 10 of them were set in 2011. In a few of those cases, the records that fell came from Breeders Crown night.
Among those track records, a few stand out more than most. Economy Terror, a 2-year-old pacing filly, and Sand Violent Blu, a 2-year-old trotting filly, set their track marks while winning state championships as part of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes finals in September. Dejarmbro inaugurated the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial Trot, a new Pocono stakes race featuring 3-year-old trotters, by matching a world record in 1:52:2. And who could forget the dead heat between Macraider N and Bettor Sweet in an Open pace in May, which came in 1:48:4, fastest time ever for two horses hitting the line in a tie?
As great as those miles were, the one that stands out for me was the mile paced by 4-year-old stallion We Will See in an Open pace on September 4. With Ron Pierce in the bike, he tripped the line in 1:48, setting the mark for fastest mile in track history and matching the fastest time ever on a 5/8-mile oval. That one is still jaw-dropping several months after the fact.
Of course, as great as the horses were, we also have to salute the drivers and trainers who conditioned and guided them to such great performances. Congratulations to Matt Kakaley, who came out on top of an outstanding field of drivers in the wins department. Dave Palone took the driving average title, which was all the more impressive considering that the Meadows regular usually only came to Pocono if there were some big stakes races on tap.
On the training side, it was a clean sweep for Lou Pena, who led the trainers in both wins and percentage at Pocono. Those three guys that I just mentioned were at the top of the charts, but the distinguishing characteristic about the MSPD driving and training colony is the balance. So many men and women had outstanding campaigns in 2011. Congratulations to them all.
It has been a pleasure writing these columns, as usual. Thanks to all the publications and web sites that run these articles, and thanks to all the readers. Thanks as well to all of the people who make my job the easiest in the world. Again, too many to mention in this case, and I don’t want to leave anybody out, so a blanket thanks will have to suffice.
Of course, thanks to all the fans who came out to see the action this year at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. It must be especially rewarding for those fans that have been with us even in leaner times. They stuck with us, and now they’re enjoying what truly is the Golden Age of Pocono racing.
I guess it’s natural at the end of one season to look ahead to the next, but it’s hard to say what 2012 will hold. Harness racing is ever-changing, and the stars of one year are often also-rans the next. But while it may be hard to predict who will be in these articles next season, it’s no stretch to say that the upcoming meet will probably top this one.
That is not a reflection in any way on the great, great season ready to be consigned to the history books and the memory banks. It is a reflection instead on what has become the status quo at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs: Sustained excellence and racing quality that is constantly trending upwards.
That will do it for this season, but we’ll see you, next year, at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Nov 2, 2011 | Racing
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review
October 28-November 3, 2011
We are just a few racing nights away from closing night here at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Next week, I’ll use this article to give a general overview of the season that was. But for this week, it’s time to honor the 2011 Pocono Horses of the Year. These were the transcendent performers that shone the brightest throughout the 2011 season, and although they weren’t easy choices, I think we’ve got the cream of the crop. Much thanks to Terri Phalen and Jennifer Starr for their help in making these selections.
PACER OF THE YEAR: DROP RED
The stallion has been a major factor at Pocono for several seasons, but he has been especially fine in 2011, both in terms of durability and productivity. Trained by Robert Horowitz, Drop Red won all the way back on March 25 at Pocono, on his way to 5 wins in his first 9 races in the meet. After a little summer slump, he’s been roaring again, winning his last three starts. What’s most impressive is that he has done the majority of his work against some of the best condition and Open pacers on the grounds and has been no worse the wear for it.
TROTTER OF THE YEAR: WINNING MISTER
This standout from the Walter Carroll barn cut short his season in August, but what a season it was up to that point. Much of the damage he did came at MSPD, and all of it came against the best of the best. In 7 races at Pocono, all against Open company, the stallion hit the board every single time and notched three victories. The standout performance for Winning Mister came on June 10, when, with George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, he scorched the track with a victory in 1:52, setting a new lifetime mark and a Pocono track record in the process.
MARE OF THE YEAR: FOREVER IVY
Charlie Norris trains this standout distaff pacer and often drove her as well in her magnificent 2011 campaign. Again, this was a case of a horse not ducking any foes, facing the very best mares on the grounds week in and week out. The results were hard to deny. She arrived from The Meadows in April and began winning not long after. 6 victories in 15 races is a pretty good batting average, and she has ramped up the intensity as the season has begun to wane, notching four wins in her last five races. Among her Pocono wins this season was a career-best mile of 1:50:3.
CLAIMING PACER OF THE YEAR: SEGUNDO HANOVER
There were plenty of claimers this year that ran off dazzling winning streaks, made big jumps in class, and won a ton of races overall. Segundo Hanover managed to do all three of those things, and he did so under the tutelage of seven different trainers during the season. All 13 of his victories this season were at the friendly confines of Pocono, and he had two winning streaks of at least three races. In addition, he doubled his claiming price along the way from $7,500 to $15,000.
CLAIMING MARE OF THE YEAR: NATURAL WOMAN N
Known for being a bit ornery, this veteran mare took out all of her aggression on her distaff competition this season. She has won more races (10) and earned more money ($107,072) than in any season in her career. Eight of those victories came at Pocono, and she hit the board often even when she didn’t find the winner’s circle. That’s not too bad considering that she is now 10 years old, and she even earned a career-best mile of 1:52 during the 2011 campaign.
CLAIMING TROTTER OF THE YEAR: PEMBROOK STREET
This has been a breakthrough season for the gelding, as he has won half of his 18 starts in 2011. 7 of his 9 wins came after arriving at Pocono from The Meadows in July. Even more impressive is the fact that he was able to step up out of the claiming handicap trotting group for a win over the winners of over $25,000 conditioners, which is just a notch below the Open trotters. Pembrook Street also churned out a career-best victory at Pocono in 2011 in 1:52:4.
2-YEAR-OLD OF THE YEAR: ECONOMY TERROR
The pride of the Chris Oakes barn, who was just crowned the 2-year-old distaff pacing champ of North America following her win in the Breeders Crown at Woodbine, made just three starts at Pocono this season, but they turned out pretty well. Economy Terror won her debut at Pocono back in July, followed that up with a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes win here in August, and sealed the deal with a win in the Pennsylvania Championships for 2-year-old pacing fillies in September in 1:51:1, shattering a track record.
Next week, we’ll wrap things up with our review of the 2011 season. Until then, we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
