Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review
May 4-10, 2012
It was a mighty busy week at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. So busy, in fact, that we needed five racing cards to get it all in, as we held a racing double-header on Kentucky Derby day. This week also witnessed our first two track records of the 2012 meet. Those record-setting horses are the obvious choices to highlight this edition of the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SPECIAL T ROCKS
Saturday night’s feature race was the Van Rose Memorial, a $50,000 Open event in honor of a local sportswriter whose dedication to the sport of harness racing made him a very special part of the Pocono racing scene. Van would have been extra proud to see the race held in his name, because it produced a new world record mile.
The field was packed to the gills with talent, including million-dollar earner Dial Or Nodial, top Pocono pacers Drop Red and Fred And Ginger, and a pair of dangerous shippers from Yonkers in Melvyn and Flipper J. In the end, it was Special T Rocks, who proved his mettle with back-to-back wins in his previous starts at Harrah’s at Philly, that had the answer when they came to the line.
After following cover on the outside, the gelding trained and driven by Daryl Bier went sweeping by the competition to win by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:48:3. That smashed the track record for 4-year-old pacing geldings, which was previously set by Tivoli Hanover in 1:49:2 all the way back in 2008. It was also a new World Record for the age group on a 5/8-mile oval.
Other top pacers this week include: Honky Tonk Woman (Andrew McCarthy, Jeffrey Webster), a mare who is now 2-for-2 on the season after zipping to a condition win on Friday in 1:52; Dynamic Youth (Andrew McCarthy, Aaron Lambert), who won her second consecutive distaff condition pace on Friday night, overcoming a tough post for a win in 1:52:1; and Medoland Big Cam (Pat Berry, Scott DiDomenico), who stepped up in class to beat the $25,000 claimers on Tuesday night, his second straight win, in 1:52:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: FOX VALLEY ILIAD
All of us who read it in high school know that The Iliad was a tale of heroes and courageous deeds. Fox Valley Iliad lived up to his moniker on Friday night with a performance that will have the poets singing at least as long as his new track record holds up.
Fox Valley Iliad, a 4-year-old stallion from the barn of Kimberly Asher, faced off against a tough condition trotting group after just missing in the same class with a furious late move for 2nd on April 27. This time around, driver Tom Jackson sent the stallion to the front to dictate the pace, and by the stretch he had shaken just about everyone in the field.
Pocket horse Pembroke Heat Wave put up a serious challenge in the stretch, but Fox Valley Iliad responded to win by a head, stopping the timer in 1:52:3. The previous track record for 4-year-old stallions on the trot was 1:52:4 by Flex The Muscle, set in 2011. The time also matched a world record for the age and gait on a 5/8-mile oval.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Opinion Hanover (Mike Simons, Clarence Martin Jr.), winner of three consecutive condition trots after his win Wednesday night in 1:55:4; Man About Town (Howard Parker, Jim Raymer), who took a big step up the condition ladder and still handled a tough group on Friday night in 1:54:1 for his second consecutive victory; and Anders Bluestone (George Napolitano Jr., Eric Ell), who shipped in to beat the best trotters on the grounds on Saturday night in 1:53:1, giving the stallion seven wins in eleven races this year.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: BOND BLUE CHIP
It didn’t take long for a Friday night wake-up call for the patrons, as driver Eric Carlson led Bond Blue Chip to a claiming pace win in the first race at 37-1, paying off $77.20 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MATT KAKALEY
Pocono’s leading driver in 2011 has been heating up once again of late. He followed up four wins on the Saturday double card with a driving double on Tuesday night.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: RON BURKE
Burke once again finds himself at the top of the Pocono trainers’ standings. This week was a typically productive one for his barn at MSPD, highlighted by back-to-back winners on Saturday night’s card.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

Fred And Ginger and Lolique Star in Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Feature Races
April 21, 2012
Pacer Fred And Ginger and trotter Lolique won the feature races for their respective gaits on a sloppy Saturday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Each of the features was a condition for winners of over $25,000 lifetime and carried a purse of $25,000.
On the pacing side, Fred And Ginger got some revenge on Drop Red, who beat him in the same class a week ago. With Matt Kakaley in the bike for trainer Ron Burke, Fred And Ginger, the 4-5 favorite, pounced on the leader in the stretch after a pocket trip to win by two lengths in 1:51:4. Drop Red settled for the place while Bet The Town picked up the show.
For the trotters, Lolique, the 1-5 choice, controlled matters from when he took the lead at the 3/8-mile marker all the way home. The 9-year-old standout from the barn of John Wagner won for the first time this season, as Jim Morrill Jr. guided him home to a three-quarter-length win over Don’t Know Chip in 1:54:4. Sand Top Gun was third.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Closes Out 2011 Season

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Closes Out 2011 Season
November 12, 2011
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs closed out its 2011 season by honoring some of its finest horses, trainers, and drivers, while Golden Receiver provided one more highlight by winning the featured pace on Saturday night.
Golden Receiver, trained by Mark Harder and driven to victory by Howard Parker, picked up his second straight win in the winners of over $25,000 lifetime condition pace, which carried a purse of $29,000. The gelding won in 1:49:3, holding off Vlos by 1 ¼ lengths.
Throughout the week, Pocono honored its top performers of the season. The honorees included:  Matt Kakaley, most driving wins; Dave Palone, highest UDRS; Lou Pena, leader in training wins and UTRS; Drop Red, Pacer of the Year; Winning Mister, Trotter of the Year; Economy Terror, 2-year-old of the Year; Forever Ivy, Mare of the Year; Segundo Hanover, Claiming Pacer of the Year; Natural Woman N, Claiming Mare of the Year; and Pembrook Street, Claiming Trotter of the Year.
Mohegan Sun would like to thank all of its racing fans for helping us provide another outstanding season, and we look forward to the upcoming campaign scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review Oct. 28-Nov. 3, 2011

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].