Aug 15, 2014 | Racing
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is planning a momentous Sire Stakes Championship Night for Saturday, September 6th, with over $1 million in purses, and an Open Trot and an Open Pace to sweeten the night.
The $50,000 Modern Family Open Trot will be held in honor of the late trotter, who passed away on July 20th following the Maple Leaf Trot. Modern Family,a 5-year-old son of Cantab Hall, was trained and co-owned by Daryl Bier, in partnership with Charles Dombeck and Richard Poilucci. A 19-time winner in 51 career starts, Modern Family had career earnings of more than $550,000. The connections of the trotter have been invited to take part in the Winner’s Circle presentation following the race.
Also planned for the evening’s card will be a $50,000 Open for the top pacers in harness racing, and anyone interested in entering the Pace or the Trot should contact the Race Office at 570-831-2228.
PA Sire Stakes Championship Night will feature the best of the Freshmen PA bred trotting and pacing stars competing in $260,000 finals. Consolation races will also be held.
Post Time is 6:30pm, and the day will kick off with a Signings and Sightings meet and greet with Hall of Famer and former New York Giants Linebacker Lawrence Taylor from 4:00pm to 5:30pm on the Sky Bridge, conncecting the casino and the racetrack. Those wishing to meet the football legend should obtain a wristband to secure their spot in line, starting at 1:00pm. Only authorized photos will be signed, and they will be issued at the signing.
May 1, 2014 | Racing
April 26, 2014
Bandolito outdueled Dynamic Youth to win the featured Preferred Handicap pace on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Dynamic Youth set the early pace and was able to rate the speed well. Yet Bandolito, the 4-5 favorite in the field of six, came ranging up first over on the back stretch for trainer/driver Daryl Bier. The two were hooked up in a close battle for pretty much the entire second half of the mile, with Bandolito finally prevailing by a neck in 1:50:2. Eighteen finished third.
Bandolito, a 4-year-old stallion owned by Daryl and David Bier and Charles Dombeck, had won his previous two starts at Dover Downs and now has four wins in six races in 2014. It was his 13th lifetime victory in just 17 starts, pushing his career earnings to $241,415.
Mar 28, 2014 | Racing
March 22-28, 2014
The 2014 season at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs began under sunny skies and comfortable temperatures last Saturday night, a nice break from the bitter cold that has enveloped the area for so long. Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday got downright frigid once again, but nothing dampened the enthusiasm for the start of the campaign. As we will all season long in this space, let’s take some time to honor the best performances by horses, drivers, and trainers in the past seven days by handing out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: EIGHTEEN
Although there weren’t any Open paces on the card this week at Pocono, there were several top-flight condition paces which produced seriously rapid times, especially on Saturday night when the weather cooperated. Still, times under 1:50 in the month of March are rare, especially for horses who go into a race at odds of 12-1.
That’s exactly what the 6-year-old stallion Eighteen was facing as he stared down a condition field of non-winners of $30,000 in the last four starts on Saturday night. Trained by Mark Ford, Eighteen had been testing himself against some of the tougher condition pacers at the half-mile oval at Yonkers prior to his arrival at Pocono. He was certainly ready to pounce from behind when the fractions got hot and heavy.
In the stretch, driver Mark MacDonald called on Eighteen for a rally, and he responded with some major late kick. When the dust cleared, the son of Cam’s Card Shark blew by all of the horses who got more attention at the windows with little problem, tripping the timer at a stunning 1:49:3. It was a new career mark for Eighteen, and an early, imposing standard for the rest of the pacers on the grounds to try and match.
Other top pacers this week include: Blatantly Good (Brett Miller, PJ Fraley), who controlled a condition field on Saturday night for a victory in 1:49:4; He’s A Beachboy (George Napolitano Jr., Gilbert Garcia-Herrera), who followed up back-to-back wins at Freehold with a win over a claiming handicap field on Saturday night in 1:52; and Shark Fantasy (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), whose win Saturday night in 1:52:3 against other three and four-year-old pacers in the Bobby Weiss series was his third straight overall.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: MODERN FAMILY
While the pacing side had no invitation/open-style races on tap this week, we were fortunate enough to witness a $25,000 Preferred Handicap on the trotting side on Saturday night. As expected, it was a stellar field drawn to the big purse, led by Modern Family, the 5-year-old stallion who is the pride of the Daryl Bier barn.
Bier also drives Modern Family and has led his horse through a gauntlet early in the season, taking on the very best trotters at the Meadowlands and Dover Downs. Yet he hasn’t been the least bit intimidated; in six starts this year he had been in the money every time, including a pair of wins. With that kind of track record, it was no surprise he was made the 4-5 favorite on Saturday night in a rugged field of nine.
Bier worked out a pocket trip behind pacesetting Daylon Magician, setting it up for a stretch battle. That’s when Modern Family delivered the winning blow, wheeling on by for a one-length victory in a time of 1:52:1 that would have been worthy of praise in the middle of summer, let alone on March 22. It made for a great start to the trotting season, which, based on this early evidence, should be quite captivating in 2014.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: First Aqua (George Napolitano Jr., Gilberto Garcia-Herrera), who dominated a field of claiming handicap trotters on Tuesday night to the tune of a career-best time of 1:53:3; Ray Hall (Tim Tetrick, Mark Harder), who won Sunday night in the first leg of the Bobby Weiss series for young trotting colts, stallions, and geldings in 1:55:3, the fastest time of the three divisions held that night; and Perfect Alliance (Andy Miller, Julie Miller), a mare whose romping win in the Weiss series on Wednesday night in 1:54 was her sixth in six tries this season.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: APPLEY EVER AFTER
This pacer rallied late in Saturday night’s final race with Aaron Byron driving to send the fans home stunned, since he was a 25-1 long shot and paid off $52 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MATT KAKALEY
In an ever-growing driving community, one of our regulars stood out right off the bat. Kakaley became the first driver to chalk up a five-win night in the 2014 season, achieving the feat on Tuesday night.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: GILBERTO GARCIA-HERRERA
Garcia-Herrera ended last year on a tear at Pocono, and he picked it up quickly, nabbing two wins on Saturday night on his way to four for the week.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Mar 23, 2014 | Racing
March 22, 2014
Modern Family parlayed a pocket trip into a late-kicking victory in the Preferred Handicap featured trot on Opening Night Saturday at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Leaving from post position #7 in a field of nine as the 4-5 favorite, Modern Family was sent to the front end early by driver/trainer Daryl Bier before ceding the lead in the front stretch to Daylon Magician. That pair stayed in the top two spots until the stretch, when Modern Family pounced to beat Daylon Magician by a length in 1:52:1. The mare Daylon Mircacle finished 3rd.
Modern Family, a 5-year-old stallion owned by Bier, Charles Dombeck, and Rich Poillucci, had won his previous start at the Meadowlands and now has three wins in his first seven races of the year. It was his 16th career victory and pushed his lifetime earnings to $326,322.
On the pacing side, the night’s top performance was turned in by Eighteen. Trained by Mark Ford and driven by Mark MacDonald, Eighteen won a condition pace in the night’s fastest time of 1:49:3.
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs kicked off its season with 14 races. Racing in the early part of the season at the track takes place on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights with first post on those evenings at 6:30 PM ET.
May 5, 2013 | Racing
April 27-May 3, 2013
We start every year at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs with a fresh Track Records page at the back of the program showing off some of the finest performances ever at the track. And every year, by the end of the season, that page looks drastically different after a fresh batch of competitors hits the track and breaks or matches a bunch of those records. Our first interloper on the Track Records page for 2013 highlights this week’s edition of the Weekly Awards
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: BEATGOESON HANOVER
This mare from the barn of Nifty Norman has had a distinguished career, earning close to $1 million in her lifetime, so she was certainly capable of a big effort. The down side was that she came into Saturday night’s condition pace for non-winners of $22,500 in the last five races without a win in her first four tries this season, although that was excusable considering the tough foes she had been facing at the Meadowlands.
On Saturday night, she had Ron Pierce in the bike, and Pierce decided he would be aggressive with the mare, sending her first over on the front stretch to take the lead by the half-mile marker. The fractions Beatgoeson Hanover laid down were unforgiving, which prevented any outside pressure from getting by her.
That kind of up-front speed often leaves a horse vulnerable in the stretch, but this mare was not to be denied. Pierce urged her home 1 ¼ lengths in front of Dontgetinhisway in a stunning time of 1:52:1. That matched the track record for trotting mares aged four years old and up, a mark originally set by Brighten Up in 2010. It won’t be the first time we see a track record in jeopardy this season, but it was still a thrilling effort by this marvelous mare.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Defiant Donato (Matt Kakaley, Jim Campbell), an impressive young filly with three straight wins to start her career after a rallying victory in a condition trot on Wednesday in a career-best 1:55:1; Fool’s Revenue (Jim Morrill Jr., William Mullin), who moved up in class to beat the $12,500 claimers on Tuesday night in 1:55:3, his second straight victory; and In Your Room (Mike Simons, Gail Wrubel), a mare who stepped up in class on Tuesday night but still rolled to her second straight condition win in 1:54:2.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ST LADS ZOOM ZOOM
Trainer and driver Daryl Bier only makes cameo appearances at MSPD, and he usually only makes the trip if he has a serious contender who can do some damage on the Pocono oval. As a result, he usually has a pretty excellent percentage of winners, and St Lads Zoom has been particularly tough to stop in the early parts of the meet.
The 4-year-old gelding was saddled with tough outside post positions in his first two starts at Pocono, but he acquitted himself well with a third and a win in those races. On Saturday night, he got a much better look at it with a #3 post position in a field of eight, but he also was moving up in class into a rugged non-winners of $24,000 the last five starts condition pace.
The good post allowed Bier to get St Lads Zoom Zoom in solid position in the pocket. In the stretch, the gelding did the rest, powering home for the victory in a thrilling stretch drive over favored Meirs Hanover in 1:51:2. St Lads Zoom Zoom has now won six of his nine races this season, just another efficient and effective performer from the Bier barn.
Other top pacers this week include: Pence Hanover (Andrew McCarthy, Aaron Lambert), who won the season’s first Preferred pace on Saturday night with front-end speed in a career-best 1:49:4; Mr Perseverance (Ron Pierce, Rene Allard), who moved up his claiming price to $25,000 yet still captured his second straight victory on Saturday night, this time in a career-best 1:50:3; and Lorrie Please (Eric Carlson, Michael Hall), a mare who captured the featured distaff pace on Sunday night with a gutsy effort in the stretch in 1:50:2, a new career-best.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: WESTERN CHURCHILL
The #9 post position didn’t scare away this gelding driven by John Campbell in a condition pace on Saturday night, as he won at 35-1 for a win payout of $72.80.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: RON PIERCE
Pierce has been making more frequent appearances at Pocono and has been lethal. Consider the monster night he had on Saturday night when he notched seven wins.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: RENE ALLARD
Allard has been one of the hottest trainers on the grounds early in the season, and this week was no different, as he scored three wins including a double on Saturday night.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
