Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week In Review
The early weeks of the season at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs have been spiced up by some exciting action in the Bobby Weiss series. Named after out longtime, recently retired track superintendent who helped to mold the Pocono surface into the lightning-fast, horse-friendly track that it is, the series held its first finals this past week with $30,000 on the line in those races, both of which were on the pacing side. Those final winners highlight this edition of the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: FEARLESS DIABLO
Driver Corey Callahan wasn’t scheduled for any other drives at Pocono on Tuesday night except aboard Fearless Diablo in the final of the Weiss series for 3 and 4-year-old colts, horses, and geldings on the pace. Considering that the 4-year-old stallion had broken stride in his previous race, Callahan and trainer Dylan Davis must have felt that the last start was an aberration.
Fearless Diablo sat back early as the lead changed hands a couple times and fast fractions were laid down on the front end. The stallion began to move the first time past the front stretch, and he picked up some racing luck when the horse who tipped out in front of him, Ideal Champ, carried him all the way to the stretch right behind the lead.
That’s when Callahan let Fearless Diablo loose three-wide, and he blasted by the tiring leaders to win the race by 1 ¾ lengths in 1:51. That gives him six wins in 11 races, which is especially impressive considering he came into the 2011 season with just three career starts and no victories.
Honorable mention on the pacing side this week goes to: Ooh Bad Shark (George Napolitano Jr., William Wiggins), who completed a sweep of the Weiss for distaff pacers on Wednesday night by winning the final in a dominating, front-running performance in 1:52:3, a new career best; My Drag Queen (George Napolitano Jr., Robert Bresnahan Jr.), a mare who now has a five-race winning streak, the last two of those victories coming at Pocono, after a condition win on Saturday night in 1:51:3, a new career mark; and Bet The Town (Anthony Napolitano, Steve Salerno), a winner of four straight and two in a row at Pocono after a win against out highest claiming class on Saturday night in a career-best 1:50:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: PEMBROKE HEAT WAVE
Following her victory last week in 1:53:4, which is the fastest in the meet so far at Pocono, this 6-year-old mare was pointed to bigger things on Friday night. Trainer Mark Ford moved this one up in class to face a rugged condition trotting group filled with non-winners of $25,000 in the last five races.
On top of that, she was saddled with a tough #7 post in a field of eight. The bump in class and the tough post seemed like a double whammy for Pembroke Heat Wave, which might be why she got away as the 3-1 third choice on the board. Driver Jim Morrill Jr. wasn’t worried, however, sending the mare to the front end early with a burst of speed.
Morrill did a nice rating job once his charge got to the lead, and Pembroke Heat Wave was ready when challenged in the stretch. Despite several competitors with better trips lining up behind her, she powered home to win in another crisp time of 1:54:1. Now 2-for-2 at Pocono, this mare might be capable of moving up yet again if she keeps trotting so impressively.
Other top trotters this week include: Speed Bomb (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who now has two straight wins to start the meet after a condition won on Friday in 1:55:1; Sand Top Gun (Jim Morrill Jr., Tyler Raymer), who burned his way to a win in Saturday night’s week featured condition trot in 1:54; and Magnum Kosmos (Jason Bartlett, Tony Dinges), who motored to a condition win on Wednesday night in 1:53:4, the fastest trotting time of the week.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: GREAT SOUL
This claiming pacer kicked off Saturday night’s late Daily Double in style, fighting hard to pick up the win for trainer and driver Brandon Simpson at 50-1, paying off $103.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
Call him Mr. Saturday night special. George rolled all over the competition for six driving wins on Saturday night, most by a driver in a single night so far this meet.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: TYLER RAYMER
He’s coming off his finest season at Pocono, and it looks like he’s picking up where he left off in 2011, racking up wins on three different nights last 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].
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week In Review
Opening Night Recap – April 3, 2012
It didn’t take long for the 2012 season at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs to kick into gear. In front of a solid crowd on Tuesday night, a field of seven pacers went to the gate in Race 1 for the first of about 1,900 races that Pocono will host from now to November.
What’s funny about it is that all of us who love the sport of harness racing spend lots of time looking forward to a new season, but it takes just a matter of moments for us to really get engrossed in it all over again. In this case, it took about 53:4 seconds, which is how long it took Midas Blue Chip to cover a half-mile of ground.
For those of you who might not be familiar with the sport, that is seriously fast, the kind of pace you would expect from a stakes race in the middle of summer. Instead, it came in the first division of five on the night for the Bobby Weiss series, an ongoing racing event scheduled in the month of April at Pocono to honor the longtime track superintendent who retired in the offseason.
So, while this was a good field of young pacers, it was not the kind of field, or the kind of night for that matter (somewhat chilly) to produce such fast fractions. So the logical conclusion that most racing fans would come up with is that the horse setting that pace, Midas Blue Chip, was bound to fade.
Only he didn’t. With Jim Morrill doing the driving, the gelding from the barn of Brian Seidel sustained all the way to the finish line for a thrilling victory in 1:52. And so, another racing season was off and rolling in impressive fashion.
As fast as that race was, however, things got even faster as the night progressed. Later on in the Weiss series, Social Network updated his status with a victory in 1:51:4. Following that up, Three Artist got a win a tick faster in 1;51:3, the night’s fastest time. It was a flying start to a series that should be fun to watch as the month rolls on.
It was also nice to see our old friends in the driving and training colony already in fine form as well. Matt Kakaley, the leading driver in victories at Pocono in 2011, got off to a quiet start, going winless in the first nine races. He more than made up for that though, winning four of the last five races on the program. Morrill added three wins while David Miller picked up a double. Familiar faces George Napolitano Jr., Anthony Napolitano, Mike Simons, Tony Schadel, and Ray Schnittker all notched driving wins as well. On the training side, Ron Burke and James McGuire each had doubles on Opening Night.
For the bettors, there were excellent opportunities to be had. Even though favorites came up with a solid winning percentage on the night, taking five of the fourteen races, a few mid-price horses spiced up the payouts. In the 6th, Chase The Sun snuck through the passing lane for a win at 6-1. In the next race, Girls Wiilb Girls put together a gutty effort to win on the front end at 7-1. Later on in the 9th, Showmeyourstuff was first-over for a good part of the mile but still scored at 6-1.
The exotic wagers were pretty lucrative as well, as Pocono inaugurated a 10-cent Superfecta wager in a few races. In one of those races, the 7-8-3-4 combination paid off a stunning $38,868.80. It’s not Powerball money, I admit, but it’s not bad for a $2 ticket.
By the time veteran Caerleon Hanover took the win in the 14th and final race, fans had witnessed several thrilling finishes and many outstanding performances. Not bad at all for an Opening Night, setting the tone for what should be another memorable season here at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
Remember that we race on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights in the early part of the season, with post time at 6:30 PM ET. Make sure to come out and join us.
Next week, we’ll have had a full schedule of racing under our belts by that time, which means we’ll had out the first edition of the Weekly Awards. Until then, we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
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].
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review Oct. 21-27, 2011
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review
October 21-27, 2011
As October rolls to a close, it’s impossible to avoid the fact that the 2011 season is really winding down at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. With just a few weeks of racing left, the action hasn’t slowed down one bit, as evidenced by some of the stellar efforts we witnessed the past few programs. Here is just a taste in the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: MR MASSIMO
A five-year-old gelding from the barn of Aaron Lambert, Mr Massimo seems to be getting better as he gets older. He didn’t do much in his career until busting out last year with nearly $100,000 in earnings. He has more than doubled that this season, and came into Saturday night’s featured pace for winners of over $25,000 lifetime with a win and a show in his last two starts in that tough company.
Still, Mr Massimo was something of an afterthought at 6-1 in the betting. The reason for that was the presence of Atochia, a super-classy veteran pacer who had been facing a steady diet of big-stakes competition and had won his last start at Pocono back in August with a superb effort. Although Mr Massimo held the lead, it looked short-lived as Atochia charged at him on the back stretch.
That set up a truly thrilling stretch duel, with the two combatant inches apart. In the final yards, it was Mr Massimo, with Andrew McCarthy in the bike, who persevered just a tiny bit better, winning by three-quarters of a length. The winning time was a scorching 1:49, doubly impressive because it was a career-best and because it came in chilly weather conditions.
Other top pacers this week include: Segundo Hanover (Andrew McCarthy, Sarita Mosher), who continued his outstanding season with by stepping up to beat the $15,000 claimers on Saturday night, giving him his 13th win of the season and his fifth victory out of six; Fool’s Gold (Daryl Bier, Daryl Bier), who shipped in from the Midwest and continued his winning ways with a condition win on Saturday night in 1:50, his 10th victory in 14 2011 races; and Annika S (Anthony Napolitano, Rene Allard), whose win on Wednesday night over the $10,000 claiming fillies and mares in 1:53:3 was her second straight and fourth in her last five.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: TAC’S DELIGHT
The fact that a horse can somehow lose his form seemingly overnight is one of the most confounding aspects of the sport of harness racing. Tac’s Delight is just one example of this phenomenon. Last year, he won eight times and earned over $132,000, but he came into the month of October without a win in 2011 and having broken stride in his previous three starts at Pocono.
Yet it often takes just one race to turn things around. For Tac’s Delight, that race took place on October 4, when he romped to a 14-length win on the Pocono oval in a ripping 1:53:4. Buoyed by that, the 6-year-old gelding from the Rene Allard barn followed up with an easy win at Chester on October 10. On Friday night back at Pocono, Tac’s Delight jumped several condition classes in a monumental step up the ladder.
The way that he’s racing right now, it doesn’t really matter how much he jumps. Driver George Napolitano Jr. cut him loose and the gelding did the rest, destroying the excellent field by 5 ½ lengths in 1:54:1. Expect another jump in class from there, and don’t be surprised if it’s another successful leap. Just call Tac’s Delight Mr. October.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Affirmed Action (Mike Simons, John Grasso), who swept by the field late to capture the week’s featured trot on Friday night in 1:54:3, his second win in the last three; Intimidator (Andrew McCarthy, John Duer), who moved up in class but rallied for his second straight condition win on Wednesday night in 1:55, matching his career-best; and Bambino Hall (Don Irvine Jr., Tyler Raymer), a 3-year-old gelding who once handled older horses in a condition trot on Wednesday night, winning his second straight in 1:54:3.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: OK DESTINY
With Anthony Napolitano doing the driving, this filly powered by late to win a claiming pace on Friday night at 30-1, paying off $63.20 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANTHONY NAPOLITANO
Earlier this month, Anthony became the sixth driver to reach the 100-win plateau in 2011 at Pocono, joining his brother George, Matt Kakaley, Tyler Buter, Joe Pavia Jr., and Andrew McCarthy.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: AARON LAMBERT
In an impressive display on Saturday night, Lambert’s trainees won three times in a four-race span. They were only horses he trained that night, and they won races with purses totaling $73,000.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review Oct. 14-20, 2011
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review
October 14-20, 2011
A few weeks back in this column, I celebrated the immense variety of driving talent on display this season at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. On Saturday night, it was sort of a one-stop shopping event for patrons to witness that talent, as the best of Pocono‘s drivers faced off against the top helmsmen from The Meadows in the East Meets West Pennsylvania Driving Challenge.
The way it worked was this: Over a series of nine races on Saturday night’s program that were specially selected for the event, each of the nine drivers in the Challenge got one race in which he was allowed to choose the horse he wished to pilot. The other horses and drivers would be matched up in a blind draw. For each finish, points were awarded, such as 50 for 1st place, 25 for 2nd, and so on.
And what were they playing for, Johnny? Well these nine talented gentlemen were competing for the biggest share of a $50,000 bonus offered for the event. They also showed their character by agreeing to donate a portion of their winnings on the night to a pair of worthy charitable causes, The Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure and Marley’s Mission.
The combatants: Representing the Meadows were Dave Palone, Brett Miller, Eric Ledford and Tony Hall. And for the home team, it was George Napolitano Jr., Matt Kakaley, Mike Simons, Joe Pavia Jr., and Tyler Buter. Any fan of racing can tell from that lineup what kind of talent was at the track. And, despite the guys’ reminders that it was all in fun, it didn’t take too long for the competitive spirit to kick in.
It was Miller who struck first with a victory aboard condition trotter Kristal Dream in frontrunning fashion. Pocono drivers struck back in the next two races with Tyler Buter and Mike Simons churning out victories, but Miller, thanks to a second-place finish in the race won by Simons and Four Starz Twins, was able to maintain his points lead.
Dave Palone took over the middle portion of the action with wins in two of the next three races. What made the wins extra impressive were that they came aboard a pair of pacers, I’m An Eyre NZ and The Maniac, who came into the night without a victory in the 2011. Sandwiched in between those two wins was another victory for Miller, this time with Thee Town Here, which kept Palone’s rush for the lead at bay.
Wins by George Napolitano Jr. and Joe Pavia Jr. in the next two races moved them up in the standings but also ensured that no one but Miller, who still held the lead, or Palone, a close second, would have a chance for overall honors on the night. It came down to a $7,500 claiming pace which served as The Challenge’s grand finale.
Palone, needing a win, tried a valiant first-over move aboard Art Glass. Though the gelding gave a great effort, all he could do was wear down the pacesetter, Life Of Ease. Meanwhile, lurking just behind the speed duel was a gelding named Satire, driven by, you guessed it, Brett Miller. Miller guided him home for the win and clinched the Challenge in style.
In the nine races in the Challenge, Miller drover three winners, two second-place finishers, and a third-place horse. Palone held on for second in the final tally, while Mike Simons led the Pocono contingent, finishing third overall.
Does the Challenge ultimately prove anything about the merits of these drivers? Not really. In the sample size of one night, there are so many variables that can have as much of an effect as the drivers, such as the post position, the quality of the horses, and just plain old stupid luck. As a good example, Tony Hall finished last on this night, but, facing many of same drivers in a similar event four years ago, came out on top. If we had the challenge 100 times, all nine of these guys would come up with their fair share of wins.
About the only sure thing on this night is that Brett Miller was a little better than the rest. That had to be a good feeling for him, considering that he suffered a nasty on-track accident at MSPD just a few months ago that left him out of action for a while. Based on Saturday night, I guess you can say there are no lingering effects.
And while there was a lot of good-natured ribbing among the drivers concerning the rivalry between the tracks (and, for the record, The Meadows drivers outperformed the Pocono drivers on this night), the true winners were the fans and the charities involved. Here’s hoping that we can make this Challenge a yearly thing and watch these outstanding drivers duke it out each and every season.
That’s it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].