Nov 4, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
Somebody As and Hyway Marcus each took a $20,000 division of the trotting feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Saturday night, October 31st, while in the $20,000 pacing headliner, Preparty emerged as the narrowest of winners.
Between the trots, Somebody As had by far the faster time, 1:52.2, a new lifetime mark, leading at every pole and winning by seven lengths. George Napolitano Jr., who continued to hold a 15-win lead over Aaron Merriman in the 2015 North American sulky title chase, guided the altered son of Striking Sahbra for trainer Anette Lorentzon and his owners, breeder ACL Stuteri and Kjell Johansson.
Hyway Marcus won for the third time in his last six starts while taking the other trot division, also setting a personal best of 1:54.1. Driver/trainer/owner Francisco Del Cid used come-from-behind tactics with the gelded son of Gut Instinct, coming from seventh at the half and fifth at the 3/4s to defeat Stitch In Time by a neck.
Preparty, a former high-level pacer who had dropped all the way to the very bottom rung of the Pocono class ladder on September 16, continued his comeback by taking his fourth win in his last five starts, here in 1:52. The gelded son of Somebeachsomewhere rallied from the pocket to edge out the game parked-every-call Rockin Rumble by a nose for driver Simon Allard, trainer/brother Rene, and the ownership of Allard Racing Inc. and Earl Hill Jr.
And of course it wouldn’t be Halloween without Pocono staging The Grey Ghost and Poltergeist Pace, for grey or roan horses. The $10,000 race was taken by the Admirals Galley gelding Gotta Love Him, who made the lead after the quarter for driver Matt Kakaley and went on to post his first victory of the year in 1:53 for trainer Cindy Weitoish and owners Stan and Amie Weitosh.
Oct 28, 2015 | 50th anniversary of racing, Racing
As “darkness falls across the land”*, the ghosts will come out at the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday, Halloween night.!
“Grey Ghosts”, that is, as all grey or roan horses come to Northeast PA for the annual “Grey Ghost and Poltergeist Pace” sponsored by the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY.
Eight ghostly greys are behind the gate for the 4th race, with an approximate Post Time of 7:24p.m., and will be led to Post Parade by “Headless Horseman”, otherwise known as Outrider Terry Scott.
The eight-year-old grey mare, Summer Snow, has been installed as the morning line favorite at odds of 5-2. Trained by Jennifer Lappe, the spooky grey will be driven by Andrew McCarthy.
The winner of the 2013 race at Pocono, Gotta Love Him, is second choice at 3-1, and will once again have Matt Kakaley in the bike. Cindy Weitoish trains the 7-year-old gelding, who has been in every edition of the “Grey Ghost” race at Pocono!
First-time Pocono starter Movie Sequel, 4-1, trained by Shaun Callahan, ships in from Delaware, and comes off a 3rd this past Tuesday at Rosecroft. Tom Jackson picks up the drive. Others in the field include the Jennifer Sansone-trained Corwhiny at 12-1; Annie McVicar, 10-1, trained by Kimberly Asher; JS McFlash, 6-1, trained by Wendy Shimmin; and Putnam’s Storm, with Pocono leading driver George Napolitano Jr. in the bike for trainer Brian Fisher, at odds of 9-2.
Fans can expect to see some surprises with these ghoulish greys!
The Harness Racing Museum will be in the lobby, selling the commemorative Greyhound wristbands, raising money for the exhibit honoring the great trotter. Other items will be for sale.
***According to the U.S. Trotting Association, the governing body of harness racing, less than five percent of all harness horses are grey in color. The most famous was the former world champion trotter and Hambletonian winner, Greyhound.
Oct 28, 2013 | Racing
They thunder down the stretch, a sea of grey and white…a ghostly apparition of horses! It’s time again for the Grey Ghost and Poltergeist Pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs! The renowned record-breaking track will play host to all grey** or roan horses on Wednesday, October 30th, otherwise known as “Mischief Night”.
Entries for the race include morning line favorite Gotta Love Him, trained by Cindy Weitoish and driven by Matt Kakaley, at odds of 3-1; last year’s Grey Ghost winner Lilywhites, ready to defend her win, and driven by Mike Kimelman for trainer Sara Kimelman, at odds of 7-2 as the second favorite; Next at odds of 4-1 is the Joe Pavia Jr.-trained Express Jet, coming off a second place finish at Pocono on October 24th and driven by Ron Pierce. Also entered are Saratoga shipper Six Gun, trained by Brad Irvine and driven by Joe Bongiorno at 9-2; the Robert Lounsbury-trained Working Stiffs at 10-1, who finished in the money in her last four starts at Monticello Raceway; Artic Byrd, shipping in from Yonkers, and trained and driven by Truman Gale, at odds of 12-1; odds of 5-1 on McThird Dimension, trained by Blake Macintosh and driven by Simon Allard; and Hillcrest Bigdaddy, driven by Aaron Byron and trained by Scott Osterhout at 8-1. The race is the third on the card with approximate Post Time of 7:06 p.m.
Children of Pocono horsemen will be on hand to present the winning trophy in a specially decorated Winner’s Circle. This year, while Outrider Terry Scott recuperates from recent injuries, his brother Gary will take his place as the Headless Horseman, leading the ghostly greys down the stretch.
**According to the U.S. Trotting Association, the governing body of harness racing, less than five percent of all harness horses are grey in color. The most famous was the former world champion trotter and Hambletonian winner, Greyhound.
Oct 26, 2011 | Racing
The Grey Ghosts come to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs!
Live harness racing at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs will be strangely eerie on Saturday, October 29th as the harness track in Northeast PA hosts a special “Grey Ghost and Poltergeist Pace” for grey or roan horses.
The field is set with seven ghostly greys entered for the race, which is the third on the card. Monticello’s “Little Grey Jug” winner Trigger Finger ships in to try the Pocono oval after setting a 1:53.4 track record in the 21st edition of that race on September 20th. He’ll be joined by Jaguar Jet, who finished third in that race at Monticello.
John Nason’s Gray Bomber makes the trip from Plainridge Racecourse to take on Pocono favorites Gotta Love Him, trained by Cindy Weitoish; Woe’s Jet Filly, the lone mare in the race, trained by Alex Kavoleff; and the Eric Mollar-trained I’m So Blue. Rounding out the field is Sham’s Big Guy, trained by Jason Robinson.
The winning horse will be presented with his or her trophy by children in costume, and a scary and spookily decorated Winner’s Circle will set the mood for the race. Jennifer Starr, Pocono’s Racing Marketing Manager, is a huge fan of the grey horses, and jumped right in to plan the event and tie it in to Halloween weekend.
***According to the U.S. Trotting Association, the governing body of harness racing, less than five percent of all harness horses are grey in color. The most famous was the former world champion trotter and Hambletonian winner, Greyhound.
