Jul 1, 2015 | Racing
Saturday, July 4th, the best of the best will land in Northeast PA for the $2,268,000 Sun Stakes Saturday supercard, featuring the $500,000 Championships for the Ben Franklin FFA pace, the Earl Beal Jr. three-year-old colt trot, and the Max C. Hempt three-year-old colt pace, and the $300,000 James Lynch Championship for three-year-old filly pacers. All four of these events have consolation events, and there are three other Invitationals/Opens on the monster card.
The day begins with a special Meet and Greet with former Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly on the Sky Bridge from 4:00-6:00pm. This is a wristband-only event, with wristbands being distributed at 1:00pm. Only authorized photos will be signed, and will be available at the signing.
Racing fans can pick up their souvenir Earl Beal Jr. Memorial hat at 8:00pm in the lower Grandstand bar, with a coupon from the live racing program. Programs are available starting at 5:00pm in the racing lobby.
Breyer Horses will be on hand for the official launch party of the release of the Foiled Again model, which will be for sale during the evening. A generous portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, who will also be on hand with a table of information and other items for sale.
Representatives of the US Trotting Association and the Harness Racing Fan Zone will be available to meet up with fans during the evening.
Racing fans are encouraged to bring their appetites because there will be outstanding selections from food trucks What The Fork; Big Belly’s BBQ; Wandering Chef; Doc Popcorn; and Johnny Rockets.
Post Time for this tremendous night of racing gets underway at 6:30pm.
Jun 25, 2014 | Racing
The great card of racing this past Saturday at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, primarily populated by elimination races for this Saturday’s $2.2M Sun Stakes Saturday, flirted with the divisional world record table on more than one occasion without any new names being set down, but the card as a whole did produce one record – according to the USTA’s Trotting and Pacing Guide, it was the fastest card ever in harness history, with an average win time of 1:49.2 for the 16 races.
T&P Guide history notes two occasions when a race card’s average win time was 1:49.3 – on Saturday, July 16, 2005 at The Meadowlands, a 13-race card (p. 297, 2013 T&P Guide), and 52 weeks ago to the day at the same track (Saturday, June 22, 2013), when the Sun Stakes Saturday elim card produced the same 1:49.3 average over 14 races (p. 288, 2014 T&P Guide).
This past Saturday’s 1:49.2 average included two trotting miles – a 1:52.2 by Nuncio and a 1:52.4 by Father Patrick in the two Earl Beal Trot elims. In all, of the 16 races, 11 miles went 1:50 or better; 8 went 1:49 or better; and 3 went in 1:48 or better – and those three came consecutively: Domethatagain upsetting his Ben Franklin Pace elim in 1:48, McWicked taking the fastest of the Max C. Hempt Pace elims in the same time, and then Sweet Lou taking the other Franklin elim in 1:47.4.
This Saturday’s Sun Stakes Saturday card will include the finals of the Franklin (FFAP), Hempt (3PC), and Beal (3TC), all worth $500,000, plus the $300,000 James Lynch Final (3PF), the $100,000 Sun Invitational trot (which, according to some reports, may actually help the 1:50 count, if you can believe that) and the $100,000 USTA Invitational pace, plus consolation races for the four major races as they fill, plus a strong undercard (this past Saturday’s non-elim races averaged 1:49.3 themselves).
Post time for Saturday’s Sun Stakes Saturday card at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is set for 6:30 p.m. If you can’t make it to the races, wager via www.ibetmohegan.com; or stop by any of the 3 OTW locations; East Stroudsburg; Lehigh Valley, or Carbondale.
Jul 4, 2012 | Racing
June 29-July 5, 2012
When I first heard that we at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs were going to be hosting not one, not two, but three major stakes races in a single day, I immediately thought back to the last time we had that kind of star-packed card, the 2010 Breeders Crown. While 3 stakes races can’t quite match up to the 12 we had that October night two years ago, the excitement and star power at the track was comparable.
It also helped that the conditions for Sun Stakes Saturday on June 30 were ideal for racing. There was even a track record matched before we got to all the six-figure races, as 5-year-old claimer Hrubys N Luck, trained by Cad Gregory and driven by George Napolitano Jr., paced to a victory in 1:48:2, matching the mark set by Pilgrims Toner for aged pacing geldings back in 2010.
With that sizzling mile as the appetizer, the three-part main course began in Race 8 with the James M. Lynch Memorial, a $250,000 stakes race for 3-year-old pacing fillies. The star attraction in that race was a filly named American Jewel, who came into the race with wins in 11 of her 13 lifetime races. One of those wins came in the Lynch elimination in a world-record matching time of 1:49:2, so it wasn’t too surprising that the gem of the Jimmy Takter barn was made the heaviest kind of favorite at 1-9.
Her foes were out to derail what the bettors thought was inevitable, and, as a result, American Jewel was forced to make a first-over move from the middle of the back on the back stretch. Such moves are treacherous, but this filly is special for a reason. Despite a good fight from pacesetter Economy Terror and a late challenge from Darena Hanover, driver Tim Tetrick was able to coax home American Ideal in 1:49:2, matching her world record time for 3-year-old pacing fillies on a 5/8 oval. I’ve been lucky enough to see some great fillies come through Pocono, including Southwind Tempo and See You At Peelers; American Ideal can go toe to toe with them all.
Remember how I said that a first-over journey can be perilous? 3-5 favorite Hurrikane Kingcole found that out the hard way in the $300,000 Max C. Hempt memorial for 3-year-old pacers. After matching a world record in winning his Hempt elimination the previous week, Hurrikane Kingcole tried to sweep by pacesetter Bolt The Duer on the back stretch in the final, but the leader wasn’t having any of it.
Meanwhile, sitting patiently about two lengths off the lead on the inside was A Rocknroll Dance. After a spectacular 2-year-old season which saw him earn a big chunk of change, this colt from the Jim Mullinix barn struggled early in 2012, winning just one of his first five races. As a result, he was somewhat overlooked at the betting windows and got away at 17-1.
On the final turn, driver Yannick Gingras saw a crack of daylight and wheeled A Rocknroll Dance to the outside. After saving ground the whole mile, he was full of pace and zipped by the tiring leaders to score a thrilling victory in 1:48:3. Some of the racing luck that had frowned on this colt in his earlier starts smiled on him on Saturday, but give him credit for being good enough to take advantage of it.
All that was left after that was the $500,000 Ben Franklin Pace, one of the nation’s premier showcases for older pacing talent being held for the first time ever at Pocono. Talk about a loaded field: Out of nine horses in the field, five had already earned at least a million dollars in their career.
Yet the 6-5 favorite was the youngest of them all, 4-year-old stallion Betterthancheddar. Pocono fans remember him from his win in the Cane Pace last year. His 2012 season heading into the Franklin final was just as impressive, as he had posted wins in four of five against superb competition for trainer Casie Coleman.
Driver George Brennan rolled the dice with Betterthancheddar, sending him on a first-over journey on the front stretch in an attempt to get the lead. We Will See was reluctant to give up his lead, and, as a result, the favorite was used hard before clearing for the lead. In the stretch, We Will See came back at him in the passing lane, but Betterthancheddar showed his mettle by holding off his rival by three-quarters of a length.
When the dust settled and the timer stopped, all in attendance saw what a special mile this was. Betterthancheddar paced the mile in an incredible time of 1:48, which matched the fastest time ever paced on a 5/8-mile oval in the history of the sport.
Such a command performance was truly extraordinary, and yet it was the only fitting way to close out such a memorable night of racing. Maybe it wasn’t 12 stakes races, but Sun Stakes Saturday was pretty spectacular in its own right, and, hopefully, a tradition in the making.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jun 29, 2012 | Racing
June 22-28, 2012
Normally, I use this space each week to detail the exploits of several of the racing stars at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. This week is an exception, because one performance was so outstanding that it outshone all others, even in a week that witnessed several track records falling by the wayside in the eliminations for the Ben Franklin, James M. Lynch, and Max C. Hempt stakes races.
The performance in question was put in by a horse with an odd name and an even odder story. Googoo Gaagaa is that unique colt, proof that absolutely anything can happen in the sport of harness racing. In the past two weeks, he has done things at Pocono that no trotter has ever done, a fact made even more amazing when you consider the origins of this one-of-a-kind performer.
Richard Hans is an owner and trainer of horses on the Maryland circuit, and he attempted a few years back to breed a trotting mare he had purchased named Kora’s Trotter to another trotter, but no offspring resulted. Wanting to get something for his money, he matched Kora’s Trotter with a pacer that he owned named Cam’s Rocket. The result was Googoo Gaagaa.
Googoo Gaagaa began racing in Maryland last season as a 2-year-old, and the results were astounding. He won every one of his six trots, capping the season with a ridiculous 41-length win in the finals of the Maryland Sire Stakes at Ocean Downs. Hans resisted overtures from big racing syndicates to purchase the horse in the offseason, even as skeptics doubted the colt’s ability to face off against tougher trotters he would inevitably meet outside of his home state.
Those skeptics seemed prophetic when Googoo Gaagaa’s first start in 2012 and his first out of his Maryland ended with a break of stride at Harrah’s. Two weeks later, he bounced back with a sizzling win on the same track, and he followed that up with a win in the Simpson at The Meadowlands and a victory over older condition trotters at Harrah’s.
Hans handed the reins over to Corey Callahan for those races, and driver and horse got along extremely well. Next up was the elimination for the $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial trot at Pocono on June 16. This seemed like it would be the colt’s toughest test yet, and yet Callahan never lifted a finger as Googoo Gaagaa romped to win in 1:51:3, which set a new world record for 3-year-old colts on the trot, almost a full second faster than the previous mark.
All of that led up to Saturday night’s final. As a sports fan, I can think of so many occasions where the storyline was so perfect up until the ending, only to have something unexpected happen to ruin the ideal finish. As I prepared to call the Beal final, the cynic in me wondered if the Cinderella story of Googoo Gaagaa had run its course and fate would intervene in the final.
Instead, Googoo Gaagaa put on a performance for the ages. He took over the lead on the front stretch from Stormin Normand, a superstar colt in his own right who, in any other year, would have won this race in record-setting fashion. In the stretch, Stormin Normand came hard at the leader, and Callahan asked for more from his horse for the first time.
To say that the colt responded would be an understatement of epic proportions. Even though he had set nasty fractions throughout the mile, Googoo Gaagaa found another gear late and burned his way home to the win in 1:50:4.
That’s right: 1:50:4. I called the race a few years when Arch Madness trotted a mile of 1:51, which set the world record for all age groups at a 5/8-mile oval. It was so ridiculously fast that I never thought anyone would approach it again. Googoo Gaagaa not only approached it; he bested it, becoming the fastest trotter ever at a track size used by many of the top tracks in the country.
After the race, our television personnel, Kelly Connors and George Anthony, interviewed a jubilant Callahan and a reluctant Hans. The trainer couldn’t wait to get off the stage, while Callahan chuckled at Hans’ one-word answers to the questions.
They made quite the odd couple, but, then again, Googoo Gaagaa is one odd horse, although what’s truly odd about him really isn’t his name or his pedigree or his connections or anything else in his unlikely rise to the top of the trotting world. He’s odd in terms of the fact that he can trot faster than just about any horse on the planet right now. That’s the kind of odd any horsemen would want.
That’s it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jun 24, 2012 | Racing
June 23, 2012
On a night when three track records and two world records had already been established at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Googoo Gaagaa needed to come up with something special to steal the show.
How does the fastest mile ever on a 5/8-mile oval work for you?
Googoo Gaagaa trotted an unreal 1:50:4 to win the $500,000 Earl Beal Memorial Jr. trot on Saturday night. The performance capped off an amazing night of action that saw pacers and trotters scorching the Pocono oval all night long.
Googoo Gaagaa came into the night having set a world record for 3-year-old colts on the trot of 1:51:3 in last week’s Beal elimination. In the final, the colt who is owned and trained by Richard Hans of Maryland, made his move on the front stretch to take the lead from Stormin Normand.
Nobody else made a serious threat to the top two, and Stormin Normand made a charge in the stretch, pulling up to about a half-length away. But driver Corey Callahan, who’s been aboard for all of Googoo Gaagaa’s 2012 victories, urged him home to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Little Brown Fox finished a distant 3rd. The fractional times were 27:1, 55:2, and 1:22:3, leading to the amazing winning time of 1:50:4, which shattered the world record for trotters of all ages on the 5/8-mile oval, which was the 1:51 mile posted by Arch Madness at Pocono in 2010.
In the winner’s circle, Callahan described Googoo Gaagaa’s legendary performance by saying, “He’s just a machine. He’s a professional in every sense of the word.” Callahan also had encouraging words for Hans, who was unsure how he fit in on the big stage, telling him, “You belong here, and he proved tonight that he does.”
Googoo Gaagaa now has an amazing record of 11 wins in 12 races, with his only loss coming earlier this season when he went off-stride at Harrah’s. Sired by Cam’s Rocket, a pacer, the colt pushed his career earnings to $345,945 as he heads to the Yonkers Trot.
The record-setting began at Pocono in the first elimination for the Ben Franklin, a free-for-all pace which Pocono will host for the first time next week. George Brennan drove Aracache Hanover, trained by Gregg McNair, to the Pocono all-time mark for aged pacing stallions with a victory in 1:48:1. The previous mark of 1:48:2 was set by Vlos in 2010 and matched by Transcending this May. From that elimination, Meirs Hanover (2nd), Bettor Sweet (3rd), Clear Vision (4th), and Razzle Dazzle (5th) also made the Franklin final.
In the second elimination, Bettarthancheddar, with Brennan in the bike again, this time for Casie Coleman, chased down We Will See late for a victory in 1:48:3. Along with Bettarthancheddar and We Will See, 3rd-place Foiled Again and 4th-place Rockincam are headed to the Franklin final.
In the second elimination for the Max C. Hempt Memorial, a 3-year-old open pace, Hurrikane Kingcole powered to a romping win in 1:48:1, breaking Shadow Play’s track record of 1:48:2 and matching the world record for 3-year-old colts on a 5/8-mile oval. From that split, I Like Dreamin and Hillbilly Hanover, who finished 2nd and 3rd, will race in next week’s final.
The first Hempt split was captured by I Fought Dalaw, with David Miller in the bike for Sam DePinto, in 1:49:3. One Through Ten and Mc Attaboy made the final by finishing second and third in that split. Bolt The Duer, with Mark MacDonald driving for Peter Foley, won the final Hempt split in 1:48:3. All Star Legend, who finished second in that split, and A Rocknroll Dance, who finished 3rd, are headed to the Hempt final next week.
The night’s final record came courtesy of American Jewel, the star 3-year-old filly trained by Jimmy Takter. With Tetrick in the bike, she captured her elimination for the James M. Lynch Memorial stakes for 3-year-old pacing fillies in 1:49:2. That’s a new Pocono mark for the age group, breaking the 1:49:3 staandard set by the great Southwind Tempo, and matches the world record on a 5/8-mile oval. Joining her in next week’s Lynch final from her split are Economy Terror, Marty Party, Lightning Paige, and Destiny’s Chance, who finished 2nd through 5th, respectively, in the race.
In the night’s other Lynch elimination, Darena Hanover, with Yannick Gingras in the bike for Ron Burke, scored in 1:50:2. Her fellow finalists are Sarandon Blue Chip (2nd), Shelliscape (3rd), and Major Look (4th.)
The finals for the Ben Franklin, Hempt, and Lynch will all take place in a mega-card on Saturday night, June 30 at Pocono, with approximately $1.6 million on the line during the night.
