A world record for 1¼ miles on a 5/8-mile track was broken in last year’s inaugural edition of the Great Northeast Open Series (GNOS) Championships, and this coming Monday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the world record at both gaits for the elongated distance, twice around the Pocono 5/8-mile oval, may be in jeopardy in this season’s three $100,000 Championships.
It was Homicide Hunter who lowered the record on the trot to 2:22.2 in winning his ...
May 11-17, 2019
Much of the racing at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono this past week took place under less-than-ideal weather conditions, thanks to an unusually cold and rainy stretch of weather from Sunday to Tuesday. That didn’t dampen enthusiasm in the least for one of the most exciting weeks of racing we’ve witnessed this year, as the action was spiced up with the Great Northeast Open Series and Pennsylvania All-Stars races for three-year-old colts and geldings pacers. Let’s take a look ...
“The calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise,” Elvis Costello once sang. I’m not sure if he had the harness racing season in mind when he penned that line, but it’s applicable here. After all, the calendar is slowly closing the door on our 2018 campaign at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, which will come to its completion on Saturday night, November 17.
I know I say this every year, but it is hard to believe that we are at the finish of another meet at Pocono. At the start ...
September 1-7, 2018
It was Pennsylvania Championship night this past Sunday evening at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. In the past, we contented ourselves with the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes finals as the centerpiece of this special September card. But this year, the finals of the newly-minted Great Northeast Open series were added to the festivities.
All totaled, the seven championship races on the card put more than $1.3 million on the line. Each race was a thrilling in its way, whether because ...
July 14-20, 2018
It was another busy week of stakes action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, Pennsylvania All-Stars, and Stallion Series racing all holding court. Our two top horses this week, however, battled for the honors on Monday night, which featured nothing but overnight racing. It just goes to show you that every night is witness to something special at Pocono, as this edition of the Weekly Awards makes plain.
PACER OF THE WEEK: FUTURE LIFE
Sometimes a winning ...
July 23-29, 2016
It was hot this week in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but that’s no real news flash, because it was hot just about everywhere in the country as well. I only mention it because the heat didn’t seem to cause any lethargy in the horses competing this past week at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. If anything, we witnessed some of the fastest races at the track in several weeks, with horses routinely putting up career-bests and even coming within shouting distance of world records. ...
