Van Rose Memorial highlights Derby Day card

2016-05-10

The Van Rose Memorial Pace on Saturday night, Kentucky Derby night, was another terrific addition to the trophy case of the pnenomenal Luck Be Withyou.
Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono resume of Luck Be Withyou:
2013 – Breeders Crown winner at two at the Northeast PA oval.
2014 – Took his lifetime mark of 1:48 here.
2015 – Franklin Final winner despite post nine and Pocono Pacer of the Year.
2016 – Van Rose Invitational winner in 1:48.4 in only his second start ... 

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2016 Season Preview

2016-03-16

2016 Season Preview
Hello again, everyone! It’s wonderful to be back, writing to the Pocono faithful on the eve of another amazing racing season. Once again I’ll be with you in this column every week, giving you the goods on all the finest performances, shocking long shots, and outstanding action taking place at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in this 2016 campaign.
After about four months away, everyone associated with the track is ready to roll on the new meet. And it feels like ... 

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2015 – The 50th Anniversary Season in Review

2015-11-20

2015 Season Review
Here we are at the conclusion of the 2015 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. It’s been an extremely special season on a lot of levels, one that I’ve been thrilled to witness. I must admit that it feels a bit odd to be looking back, because, when you’re in the thick of an action-packed campaign like this one, it feels like it whooshes by before you know it.
The fact that this was the 50th racing season at Pocono lent everything an extra ... 

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The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono honors the standouts of the season

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 ... 

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The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Week in Review

2015-10-21

October 9-15, 2015
After the last vestiges of summer flickered across the Northeastern Pennsylvania landscape early last week, more typical autumnal weather started to move in at the end of the racing week. Regardless of the weather, cold or hot, sloppy or clear, you can always count on racing at The Downs at Mohegan Sun to be of the highest caliber, and this week was no different. To prove it, let’s hand out some Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: FANCY DESIRE
It’s never ... 

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The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Week in Review

2015-10-12

October 2-8, 2015
We are heading into the home stretch of the 2015 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. October 9 is our last Friday card of the racing season; after that, racing will take place every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday night until the completion of the meet on November 21. But that doesn’t mean that the season is going out gently. On the contrary, this edition of the Weekly Awards will showcase some performances and performers that would be notable no matter ... 

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Oakes & Napolitano team sweep Saturday features

Driver George Napolitano Jr. and trainer Chris Oakes combined for a sweep of the pacing features Saturday night, October 1oth,  at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with Scott Rocks a pocket rocket in taking the $26,000 pace in 1:50.1 and Luck Be Withyou controlling the pace to report home first in 1:49.1 in a $24,000 event.
Napolitano left hard with Scott Rocks, an altered son of Rocknroll Hanover, forcing a pocket tuck from Lonewolf Currier, then surrendering the front to the brushing ... 

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The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Week in Review

2015-10-02

September 25-October 1, 2015
Now that the month of October is upon us, we have entered the final quarter of the racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. And after an incredible stretch of pleasant weather, we also saw our first sloppy track in quite some time. Nonetheless it was still an interesting, intense week of racing at Pocono. To recap, let’s hand out some Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: LUCK BE WITHYOU
In July of this year, Luck Be Withyou managed one of ... 

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The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Week in Review

2015-09-29

September 18-24, 2015
Lest anyone think that the racing action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono has slowed up a bit as summer makes its transition into fall, this past week’s excitement should definitively put that theory to rest. Four nights of action produced times as quick as any we witnessed in the heart of summer. We even had a world record performance to really push this week over the edge. That performance, needless to say, kicks off our Weekly Awards.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: ... 

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Bigtown Hero scores Saturday night feature

2015-08-31

Bigtown Hero, who already has two appearances on the sport’s all-time list of “horse who have hit the 3/4s in 1:20 or better,” missed by a tick becoming the only horse ever with three such appearances, winning the $24,000 featured pace at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Saturday night, August 29th.
Bigtown Hero, an altered son of American Ideal, certainly didn’t have it easy, either — he was outside with cover until favored Bandolito cleared Bushwacker past ... 

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