Oct 9, 2019 | Racing
October 5-11, 2019
One of the fun things about the racing action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun is how, year after year, we see a lot of the same horses coming back to perform well. That allows the fans to develop a relationship with these performers over time, a relationship that can really intensify with horses that race effectively to the point where they approach 10 or so years old. Case in point: the horse who leads off the Weekly Awards this week and has been doing damage at Pocono for years and years.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SCOTT ROCKS
It wouldn’t have felt right if we made it through an entire season at Pocono without Scott Rocks capturing Pacer of the Week honors. The nine-year-old gelding has probably won more Saturday night features than any other horse in the track’s history, and he just keeps rolling. He picked up a win in the featured $21,500 condition pace on September 28 in a season-best 1:49:3, and he was right back at it again last Saturday night in that class, leaving from an outside post in a field of six.
Even though he was coming off the win in the same class, and even though he’s proven himself again and again at the Pocono over, Scott Rocks, trained by Hunter Oakes, went off as the 9-5 second choice on the board. The favorite was Western Joe, an equally classy pacer who was coming off two straight wins at Pocono, the previous one in a scorching 1:48:2. It figured to be a showdown between these two, and that’s just what materialized.
Western Joe set the pace after taking the lead from Scott Rocks on the first turn. The fractions that he set were quick but reasonable, but he was never able to open up any kind of margin on Scott Rocks. In the stretch, George Napolitano Jr., who was been the driver for the vast majority of the Pocono wins for Scott Rocks, tipped him to the outside. Scott Rocks nosed out Western Joe in a thrilling stretch duel for the victory in 1:50:2, adding to the incredible record he has forged at his favorite track of all.
Other top pacers this week include: Clarebear (Eric Carlson, Michael Russo), who moved up in class on Tuesday night for her second straight victory at Pocono, this time capturing the featured condition pace for mares in 1:52:1; Burning Midnight (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), who moved up in class for his second straight condition win on Saturday night, getting it done in 1:52:3; and Twin B Tuffenuff (Anthony Napolitano, Ron Burke), who captured his second straight condition pacing win on Sunday night, getting it done in 1:50:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: JOEY PRO
This five-year-old gelding has really taken to Pocono since shipping in from New York. He reeled off back-to-back condition wins immediately upon arrival, both from unforgiving #8 post positions. First Joey Pro, trained by John Hallett, handled an $8,500 condition group on the front end to win on September 22 in 1:55:3. He followed it up by beating the $11,000 condition trotters a week later in a new career-best time of 1:54:4, this time using a pocket trip to get it done.
On Sunday night at Pocono, Joey Pro stepped up in class again, this time taking on a $14,000 condition class from the #7 post in a field of eight. Moving up the condition ladder is never easy, but it was especially daunting this time around as the field contained a pair of million-dollar earners in Zooming and DW’s NY Yank. The latter set the pace as the 6-5 favorite, while Joey Pro, at 8-1, found the pocket seat early.
DW’s NY Yank had to endure a strong first-over challenge to his lead from Archibald. Meanwhile, Anthony Napolitano waited patiently for his chance with Joey Pro before finally getting a chance to cut him loose in the passing lane. Joey Pro surged even with DW’s NY Yank and then stepped past, getting up to win by three parts of a length in the process. On top of winning his third straight, he also reset his career mark with a mile of 1:54:3.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: TSM Photo Bugger (Fern Paquet Jr., Karen Fread), who churned out his second straight condition win on Sunday night, this one in 1:54:4; Hill Of A Horse (Marcus Miller, Erv Miller), whose condition win on Sunday night in 1:54:3 was a career-best; and Boss Du Fosse (George Napolitano Jr., Mark Silva), who followed up back-to-back wins at Harrah’s at Philadelphia with a claiming handicap victory at Pocono on Saturday night in 1:55:2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: BUTTER TOFFEE
You might say it was a sweet victory for this trotter trained and driven by Alex Kavoleff, especially at odds of 21-1 on a Monday condition victory for a $2-win payout of $45.20.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
As the season comes to close, George Nap, well on his way to another Pocono driving title, is intensifying the pace, as evidenced by his eight-win night on Saturday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: MARK SILVA
Silva enjoyed an excellent weekend at Pocono, following up a training double on Saturday night with another victory on Sunday night in the featured condition trot with Scirocco Rob.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jul 16, 2019 | Racing
July 13 to July 19, 2019
The Weekly Awards returns after a bit of a hiatus to our coverage of the harness racing action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. While we took a break from chronicling the overnight action to put a focus on some big stakes races at Pocono, there were many outstanding performances that might have made the cut. We’re back to it this week, with many horses deserving of the honors but only a precious few lucky enough to be awarded them.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SLIPIN SKIP
If you think that claimers are somehow inferior to condition pacers and trotters, you need to watch the action a little bit more closely. It’s not uncommon at Pocono for claimers to put up times that would actually be comparable with Open competition. Such was the effort put together on Saturday night by Slipin Skip, a five-year-old gelding new to the Hunter Oakes barn following a claim from his previous start.
Since arriving at Pocono on June 23, Slipin Skip had won two of his three races with identical winning times of 1:50:4. His lone loss in that span came when he moved up into the $30,000 to $40,000 claiming handicap pacing group, a hard-luck second by a neck. He moved back up into that class on Saturday night and went off as a 2-5 favorite from post position #4 in a field of nine. Driver Dave Palone was aggressive with the favorite, sending him after the lead in a spirited three-way battle on the first turn.
Slipin Skip was able to win that duel. The fractions that he set from that point were not for the faint of heart. Yet he wasn’t able to shale Rock The Town, who came into the race having won three of his las four in the same class. It came down to Slipin Skip and Rock The Town, with Slipin Skip holding up well in the lane to win it by a length. The winning time of 1:48:4 was not just a career-best, but it was also the fastest time by anyone at the track over the past racing week, yet another impressive notch in the belt of Slipin Skip on his own and of Pocono claimers as a whole.
Other top pacers this week included: Duel In The Sun (George Napolitano Jr., Hunter Oakes), who rolled to his third straight claiming victory on Sunday night, getting it done in 1:51:3; Always At My Place (Jim Morrill Jr., Ron Burke), the decorated veteran making his way back up the condition ladder after scoring his second straight win on Saturday night, this one in 1:50; and Blue Ivy (Tyler Buter, Chris Oakes), a three-year-old filly who captured her second straight condition pace on Sunday night, winning in 1:50:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: NOBLE PRIZE
The nature of the victory that Noble Prize managed in his previous race on July 8 didn’t engender much confidence from the bettors at Pocono. In that race, he made a first-over move just as the pacesetter pretty much stopped on the back stretch. Noble Prize built a big lead, which he held onto for the win at 20-1 in 1:55. Maybe that’s why he was let go at 8-1 odds on Monday, despite the fact that he was facing a field very similar to the one he just beat in a $15,000 to $20,000 claiming handicap.
Leaving from post position #6 in a field of nine with George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, Noble Prize, a five-year-old gelding trained by Lou Pena, sat back early while the 4-5 favorite High Blue set the pace. Once again Napolitano decided on a first-over trip for his horse, only this time the leader did not falter. Instead, High Blue stood his ground on the back stretch as Noble Prize battled with him. To win this one, Noble Prize would have to earn it without any help from a faltering horse.
And, as it turns out, that’s just what he did. High Blue finally relented in ths stretch, while Noble Prize handily held off any pursuit from the closers to pick up the victory by a 1 ¼ over Keystone Sergeant. His winning time of 1:54:4 was a career-best, making the triumph even more special. Those who have believed in Noble Prize the last few weeks are likely counting their winnings right now. My guess is he’ll have a lot more folks on his bandwagon next time around.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Such An Angel (Matt Kakaley, Hunter Oakes), who scored a win in Sunday night’s featured condition trot in 1:51:3, a new career-best which matched the fastest trotting time posted at Pocono this season; Very Very Fast (Tim Tetrick, Jennifer Bongiorno), who lived up to his name with a condition won on Sunday night in a career-best 1:52:2; and Let’a Be Honest (Simon Allard, Lou Pena), who followed up a win at Harrah’s with a claiming handicap victory on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono in 1:56:1.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: ARCH CREDIT
Nobody saw this gelding coming in a condition trot on Monday’s card, but, with Kyle Di Benedetto in the bike, he upset the field at 46-1 to pay off $95.80 on a $2 wager.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JIM MORRILL JR.
Jim made the most out of his one-off appearance on Saturday night at Pocono, leading all drivers with five victories out of 14 on the program.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: RON BURKE
Burke flexed his training muscle during Pennsylvania All-Stars action this week, as his trainees won five of the eight total divisions held for two-year-old pacers on the weekend.
That will do it for this week at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Sep 26, 2018 | Racing
September 22-28, 2018
We continue to barrel forward in the 2018 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, closer and closer to the Breeders Crown in late October. With each passing week, the excitement builds just a little bit more. Meanwhile, the overnight action at Pocono continues to impress. A new batch of star performers seems to step forward each week, and these past four racing nights were no different. Let’s hand out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: INTOVIEW
Respect has been hard-earned for this seven-year-old mare trained by Gilbert Garcia-Owen, but success has been easier to come by for her. After going winless in her first 15 races of the year, Intoview found her stride with a condition pacing win at Harrah’s at the end of August at 7-1. She then came to Pocono and managed to make a late rally at 5-1 to capture a $15,000 to $20,000 claiming handicap on September 17, winning in 1:53 on a sloppy track.
On Monday night, Intoview took on that same claiming handicap group, leaving from post position #4. Yet even with the two consecutive wins, she still went off as the 9-5 second choice. The 7-5 favorite was LK’s Nancy Lee, a horse that Intoview had beaten the week before. LK’s Nancy Lee set the pace on Monday night, while Intoview made an early first-over move. Driver George Napolitano Jr. couldn’t get her immediately to the front, meaning that she was parked around two turns.
As they hit the stretch, the top two were joined by pocket horse Rosy Outlook and second-cover closer Tataria. It seemed for a moment about midway through the straightaway that Intoview was staring to drop back. But then she surged again as the line approached, nipping LK’s Nancy Lee by a head in a hard-fought 1:52.4. That makes three straight wins, including two straight Monday night features, for the mare, who might just start more betting attention to go along with the victories.
Other top pacers this week include: Areyoureadygirl (George Napolitano Jr., Hunter Oakes), a mare who won her second claiming handicap on Monday night in 1:52.3; giving her wins in the last four races that she has been at the Pocono oval; Pembroke Wildcat (Anthony Napolitano, Brittany Robertson), who captured a claiming handicap pace on Saturday night in 1:50, a new career-best and the fastest pacing time of the week at Pocono; and Sir Pugsley (Pat Berry, Ron Burke), who delivered a win in the Saturday night feature pace in 1:50.2.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: D’ DREAM
One thing we consistently see at Pocono is that horses ship in from all over the place. Sometimes, it’s a case of trainers and owners wanting to test the waters at a top track. Other times, horses are purchased from other locations to come and race for a Pocono trainer. The latter seems to have been the case with D’ Dream, a three-year-old filly. She had been racing in fair races in the state of Ohio, picking up back-to-back wins on that circuit in the month of August.
D’ Dream than arrived at Pocono and immediately paid dividends for new trainer Neal Ehrhart, winning a race on September 16 for her first ever pari-mutuel victory. On Monday night, she was at it again, this time against the non-winners of two fillies and mares trotters. Leaving from post position #1 in a field of nine as a 2-1 second choice, the filly settled in third in the early part of the mile as Fair Chase, the 9-5 favorite, set the early pace.
When an opening presented itself on the back stretch, driver Mike Simons took advantage, sending D’ Dream on a first-over journey. She blew by Fair Chase in a matter of moments and opened up a wide advantage on the rest of the field. It was all academic from there as the filly powered home a 3 ½-length winner in 1:57, a new career-best. Ohio fairs, Pocono bright lights: It’s all the same to D’ Dream. She just keeps on beating everybody in her path.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Boffin (George Napolitano Jr., Anette Lorentzon), who rolled to the victory in Sunday night’s featured condition trot in 1:53.3, the fastest trotting time of the week; Wisenheimer (Steve Smith, Jenny Melander), who rolled to a condition win on Saturday night in 1:55.1; and Jack Rules (Simon Allard, Tony Dinges), who moved up in class on Tuesday night but sill scored his second consecutive win, this one coming in 1:56.2 on an off-track.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: ACTRESS HANOVER
The maiden victory for this two-year-old pacing filly will be a memorable one, as she scored in a condition on Tuesday might with Mike Simons driving at 65-1, paying off $140.20 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: KEVIN WALLIS
If you like long shots, Wallis was your man this past weekend, winning three races on Saturday and Sunday, all with horses whose odds were greater than 10-1.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: LOU PENA
Pena, who was once a training champ at Pocono, found some of the old magic on Saturday night, ripping off three victories on the program.
That will do it for this week at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 19, 2017 | Racing
October 14-20, 2017
The weather finally got a little bit chilly in the middle of this past racing week at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, but not so much that it had a profound effect on the racing conditions. It was still a fast and frenzied four nights of racing at Pocono. As is so often the case, there were many excellent candidates for the Weekly Awards, so read on and see who gets the honors.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DOREL
When a horse steps up its game and pulls off a performance that is much better than any other that it had previously managed, it’s easy to assume that said performance was a fluke. Dorel probably had some people thinking that about him as he prepared to take on a non-winners of five pacing group on Sunday night. In his previous race, the three-year-old gelding trained by Chris Ryder tore up a condition claiming group from a #8 post at 10-1, going gate-to-wire for a career-best win in 1:50:4.
The field was tougher on Sunday night, including an impressive sophomore shipper named Daiymir. That colt was the even-money favorite and assumed control of the early lead, but needed a blistering 25:4 opening quarter to get there. Dorel, who went off as a 9-2 third choice from post position #4 in a field of eight, settled for the pocket spot, which turned out to be the right place to be.
On the back stretch, Daiymir started to labor and driver Anthony Napolitano quickly guided Dorel around him and into the lead. For the last quarter mile, the gelding dug deep and had to endure a late-closing threat from Crossfirehurricane. He held tight to win by three parts of a length in 1:52:4. One great win could be a fluke, but two excellent performances in a row is starting to look like a trend for this rising star.
Other top pacers this week include: Regalanthropist (Matt Kakaley, Bruce Clarke), who switched barns and moved up in class but still managed a victory in a claiming handicap on Saturday night in 1:51:4; About The Benjamins (Matt Kakaley, Daniel Renaud), who captured his third consecutive win against the $7,500 claimers on Monday night, with this one coming in 1:55; and When Sharks Fly (Jim Marshall III, Donna Marshall), a mare who moved up the condition ladder on Tuesday night and scored her second straight win, this time in the distaff feature in 1:51:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SOUTHWIND WARSAW
Anytime a horse reaches double figures in the win totals in a calendar year, it’s an impressive accomplishment. Southwind Warsaw, an eight-year-old gelding trained by Lou Pena, stood on the precipice of that achievement when he faced off against a $10,000 to $12,500 claiming handicap field to start off the racing action on Monday afternoon.
In an eight-horse field, Southwind Warsaw left from post position #6 as a 1-9 favorite. The heavy betting attention was understandable, as the gelding was coming off a 3 ½ length win the previous week in the same class in front-trotting fashion. Once again driver Anthony Napolitano was aggressive with the favorite, sending him to the front end early in the mile. From that point it was just a matter of keeping the fractions under control while not allowing any pressure to rankle his horse.
Napolitano handled that task expertly, and Southwind Warsaw did the rest, lengthening the lead steadily until no one else was in the picture. He coasted home effortlessly 6 ½ lengths in front in 1:54:1. Not only was that his second straight victory, but it was put him at the ten-win marker for the season with a couple months to spare. Who knows? If he stays in this kind of groove and keeps after it into the winter months, he might threaten 15 wins for the year.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Skates N Plates (Anthony Napolitano, Andrew Harris), whose condition victory on Saturday night came in 1:53, the fastest trotting time posted this past week at Pocono; Checkmate Time (Donald Dupont, Marie Dupont), who followed up a win at Harrah’s win with a victory on Sunday night at Pocono in 1:56; and Up Front Billy (George Napolitano Jr., Mark Ford), who returned from Harrah’s for a condition victory on Saturday night in 1:54:2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: DECISION DAY
This 2-year-old pacer’s maiden win on Sunday night is not one either he or his backers will forget, as he rallied with Eric Carlson in the bike to win at 60-1, paying off $124.40 to win on a $2 ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MATT KAKALEY
Kakaley amassed double figures in the win column this past week and, on both Monday and Tuesday, ripped off three wins in a row at one point on the program.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: ROB HARMON
Harmon wasted no time making an impact at Pocono on Sunday night, as he scored training victories in two of the evening’s first three races.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Apr 14, 2015 | Racing
April 4-10, 2015
Even though we’re still in just our first month of racing at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and the weather conditions have been far less than ideal, the season feels like it’s starting to take shape. This week’s addition of Sundays, making it a four-night racing week, should speed up that process. In the meantime, here is a look at the best horses and horsemen from the past three racing nights as we hand out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: IDEAL MATTERS
One of the characteristics of this whole season-taking-shape thing we talked out about in the intro paragraph is that certain horses begin to assert themselves as horses from whom we’ll be hearing all year long. And while it may be a bit presumptive to make a judgment based on the small sample size of a couple starts, it sure looks like Ideal Matters is in for a big 2015 at Pocono by the way he’s raced the last few weeks.
On March 21, the 8-year-old gelding from the barn of trainer Gilberto Garcia-Herrera scored his first win of the meet by handling a field of condition pacers in 1:51. On Saturday night, he faced off with essentially the same condition grouping of non-winners $16,500 in the last five races for a purse of $18,000. Leaving from post position #2 in a field of nine, Ideal Matters was quickly sent to the lead by driver George Napolitano Jr., who then watched as Mustang Art hustled by to take over around the first turn.
That’s when Napolitano decided that Ideal Matters was better off leading than in the pocket. The gelding retook the lead quickly on the front stretch, and then powered his way to a big lead. Gearing down in the final strides of the mile, he coasted to a two-length win in 1:50:1, the fastest time of the young season at Pocono. Two straight wins should have Ideal Matters moving up in class, but he’s already established himself as one of the horses to watch in 2015.
Other top pacers this week include: Always Wanna (Jim Morrill Jr., Matias Ruiz), who picked up his second straight win over the $12,500 claimers on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:52:4; Victory At Last (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who won his third straight Bobby Weiss series race against the three and four-year-old colts, stallions and geldings on Saturday night in a career-best 1:52:1; and Show Runner (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), a mare who now has four straight wins to start the season, the last two at Pocono, following her condition victory on Wednesday night in 1:52:2.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: ZOOMING
We’ve talked in this column before how sometimes a horse simply needs a change of scenery to ignite a hot streak. In the case of Zooming, a talented veteran trotter, maybe it was a return to his old haunts that got him going this past week. Before coming to Pocono for Saturday night’s condition trot for non-winners of $17,500 in the last five races, the 7-year-old gelding from the barn of trainer Amber Buter was coming off back-to-back races where he went off-stride.
It was an unusual stretch for a horse pushing $600,000 in career earnings. A lot of those earnings were notched on the Pocono 5/8-mile oval, which is probably why the fans made him a 6-5 favorite in the race despite the recent struggles. As it turned out, he had to earn it in this one, forced as he was to make a tough first-over journey to get to the lead.
The trip didn’t matter, however, as driver George Napolitano Jr. urged Zooming on past the tiring leaders in the home stretch. With a winning time of 1:53:4 in the chilly temperatures, the gelding proved he was back on top of his game. The Pocono surroundings might have spurred the return to form, but Zooming deserves the credit for having that great form in the first place.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: GJ Photo Victory (Jim Morrill Jr., Marcus Marashian), who followed back-to-back wins at The Meadows with a claiming win at Pocono on Wednesday in 1:57:1; JL Cruze (John Campbell, Eric Ell), a gelding with eight wins in ten races at the Meadowlands this season who came to Pocono to coast to victory in a Bobby Weiss race on Tuesday night in 1:54:1; and Dress For Success (Matt Kakaley, Christopher Freck), the mare who rolled to her third straight win in the Bobby Weiss series against the distaff trotters, matching her career-best of 1:55:1 in the process.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: INCOGNITO
Incognito made a last to first rally in Saturday night’s final race with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the bike to win a condition pace at 18-1., paying off $39.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
George Nap has already carved out space at the top of the driving standings, and he solidified that standing with a five-win night on Tuesday, the first Pocono driver to reach that plateau in 2015.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: RON BURKE
The leader in training wins to this point at Pocono, Burke has been cleaning up in the Bobby Weiss series, scoring three of his four winners this week in those late closer races.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
