May 30, 2014 | Racing
May 3-9, 2014
On Kentucky Derby day at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, we held our annual doubleheader, bookending thoroughbred’s most famous race with a pair of harness racing cards for the overflow crowd. That means we had even more racing action than usual at Pocono this past week. And that, in turn, means that it was even tougher than usual choosing from among the best performances. Yet that’s what we’ve attempted to do with this edition of the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DANCIN YANKEE
The feature event on Saturday night and of the entire week at Pocono was The Van Rose Memorial, a $50,000 invitational pace held in honor of the longtime area sportswriter and great friend to the sport of harness racing in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Van certainly would have loved Saturday night’s race, considering the stellar field it contained and the outstanding performance of Dancin Yankee.
Dancin Yankee, a 6-year-old stallion from the Josh Green barn, was fresh off the rugged Levy series at Yonkers, where he finished 5th in the $567,000 final. As the 3-1 second choice in the Rose, he stayed back from a blistering early pace which produced fractions that were unsustainable even for the caliber of pacers in the race. On the back stretch, driver Brett Miller sensed his chance and sent Dancin Yankee first-over to easily take the lead.
From there, he kept extending his advantage until it was just about insurmountable at the top of the stretch. Even with closers like the race favorite Dovuto Hanover attempting to rally, Dancin Yankee stayed strong and came home in front by 3 ¼ lengths, an eye-opening margin considering the quality of the field. Even more impressive was his winning time of 1:49, a new career mark despite the fact that the track had been downgraded to good condition due to rainy weather.
Other top pacers this week include: Codey Shark (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), whose condition victory on Saturday afternoon in 1:52:3 was his third straight; Sky Desperado (Anthony Napolitano, Steve Salerno), who switched barns but still managed his second straight $25,000 claiming win on Saturday night and matched his career-best time of 1:51:1 in the process; and Dealmaker (Ron Pierce, Joseph Poliseno), who picked up his second straight $15,000 claiming win on Wednesday night and did it in a new career-best of 1:50:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: HARBOR POINT
There wasn’t an Open or Preferred trot on the schedule this past week at Pocono. Instead, the highest trotting purse of the week was the $21,000 up for grabs in a condition trot on Saturday night pitting non-winners of $27,500 in their last four starts against each other. As a result, the top trotters on the grounds jammed into this field, many either dropping down in class or shipping in from other tracks for the race.
Yet the horse who was made the 3-5 favorite was one who was actually moving up in class. Harbor Point had faced a lower condition field in his previous start but scored in such convincing fashion in a sizzling 1:53:2 that it was impossible for the bettors to ignore him, even in such heady company. Driver Ron Pierce raced him like the best in the field, gunning him to the front end early.
Pierce did an excellent job rating the speed on the front end, so that Harbor Point was plenty strong enough to hold off any late challengers. Even with the move up in class, the 5-year-old gelding from the Mark Ford barn picked up his second consecutive win in 1:54 on a good track. This trotter is on a roll and seems ready to take on all comers as long as this hot streak persists.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Frenchmen (Simon Allard, Pierre Paradis), who picked up his second straight front-trotting win on Sunday night over the $7,500 claimers, this one coming in a new career mark of 1:56:4; Skyline Road (Jim Morrill Jr., William Mullin), who took a big step up the condition ladder on Wednesday night but still scored his second straight win, this one coming in a career-best 1:53:3; and Affirmed Action (Mike Simons, John Grasso), who went gate-to-wire to win Wednesday night’s featured condition trot in 1:53:4.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: HUMILITY
This pacer had been up the track in his previous two $25,000 claimers, but he reversed that trend on Saturday night with Marcus Miller in the bike at 36-1 for a $74.60 win payout on a $2 ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
George is a candidate to win this award every single week at Pocono. This week he picked up multiple wins in four out of the five racing cards that were held.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: RON BURKE
Burke, as always, is in the hunt to be the top trainer in the Pocono standings, and he helped his cause on Saturday night by scoring three training victories.
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 15, 2014 | Racing
April 5-11, 2014
Although the weather wasn’t always balmy in the past week at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, at least it was dry on live racing nights. That led to our first week of exclusively fast tracks, and, as you might imagine, the action had a little extra spice because of it. There were a lot of thrilling races and some extraordinary performances, the best of which we’ll now honor by handing out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DOVUTO HANOVER
Saturday night marked the first time this season that we’ve had a Preferred race on the pacing side, and the $25,000 purse brought out an excellent field of six. Among those, Sparky Mark and Blatantly Good had already established themselves at Pocono with three condition wins between them in the meet, and, with inside posts, figured to be strong contenders. Add in Dovuto Hanover, who came in with wins in two of his last three against tough company at The Meadowlands, and it figured to be quite the battle.
It’s always nice when a race lives up to the expectations. Sparky Mark went out and set the pace, but faced a stiff first-over test from Blatantly Good on the back stretch. Dovuto Hanover, the 4-5 favorite from the Darran Cassar barn, followed the cover of Blatantly Good on the outside before kicking out three-wide on the final turn.
That meant all three horses were in prime spots at the top of the stretch, setting up a thrilling battle. For a moment, it appeared that Sparky Mark would cling to his lead all the way home, as Dovuto Hanover’s momentum seemed to be stilled. Yet driver Tyler Buter coaxed a sudden burst of energy from the favorite, and the 4-year-old gelding came up in the nick of time by a nose in 1:50:4. Great horse, great finish, and a great representation of how the Preferred pacers will compete at Pocono in the upcoming season.
Other top pacers this week include: Drive All Night (Anthony Napolitano, Rene Allard), the veteran pacer who scored his second straight $15,000 claiming victory on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:51:3; Donna Party (Brett Miller-Kent Sherman), a mare who scored her third straight win in a tight claiming handicap battle on Wednesday in 1:53; and Cypress Hill Suds (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), who picked up a win against the $10,000 claiming mares on Wednesday, her second straight victory, in a career-best 1:52:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: FIRST AQUA
There hasn’t been a trotter on the Pocono grounds anywhere near as dominant so far in the meet as this seven-year-old gelding. Arriving from Freehold on March 25, he immediately scorched a claiming group by seven lengths in 1:53:3. He followed that up by moving up in class the following week to handle the $20,000-$25,000 claiming handicap group, again by a comfortable margin, in 1:54.
By that time the secret was out, and First Aqua was claimed from that race. He went from one hot trainer (Gilberto Garcia-Herrera) to another (Rene Allard) in the exchange, but he kept George Napolitano Jr. as his driver to face off with that same top claiming group on Wednesday night as a heavy 1-5 favorite.
First Aqua made the same swooping move to take over the lead on the front stretch as he did in his previous two wins. This time out he got a decent challenge from pocket horse Maravich, but he was more than up to that challenge, holding him off to win by a length-and-a-quarter. And although the margin of victory was the smallest of his winning streak, the time of 1:53:2 set a new career mark for First Aqua. That proves he’s still getting better, which is a scary thought for his future competition to entertain.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Smokin Dabra (Brett Miller, Brewer Adams), who rolled on the front end on Tuesday night to his second straight $10,000 claiming victory, this one in 1:54:4; P L Fantastic (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who took a huge step up in class and won his second straight condition trot at Pocono and his third straight overall, posting a winning time of 1:53:1; and My Leap Of Faith (Simon Allard, Brian Seidel), who rallied late for a condition win on Wednesday night in 1:54:4.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: LATE NIGHT JOKE
Driver Andrew McCarthy has a way with the long shots, and he showed it by rallying this claiming pacer to an improbable victory Saturday night at 35-1 for a $73.60 win payout on a $2 ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MARCUS MILLER
Young drivers sometimes struggle to find a place at Pocono, but Miller showed this week that he belongs, scoring driving doubles on Sunday and Tuesday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: BREWER ADAMS
He’s been a consistent force for several seasons at Pocono, and Adams scored big this week with five training wins, including doubles on Sunday and Tuesday.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Nov 15, 2013 | Racing
Well, racing fans, we have just about reached the end of another amazing racing season at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The Pocono meet ends up with a pair of added racing nights on Friday, November 22, and Saturday, November 23, a little more icing on what has been a particularly rich and tasty cake. After that, time to settle in, enjoy the holidays, and look forward to next year.
Still, for me anyway, I’m sure that a lot of those lazy winter days will be spent reflecting on the season that was. 2013 was my sixth year calling the races at Pocono and my 16th year at the track overall, and it was easily the most exciting one that I’ve ever witnessed. That doesn’t in any way denigrate some of the great years we’ve had in the recent past, but it all came together this year.
The obvious catalyst for the ridiculously thrilling action was the racing schedule. For many years, Pocono was home to just a couple of big-money stakes per year. That number of stakes races has steadily increased to the point where Pocono was pretty much the hub of the harness racing universe in 2013. There were three nights during the season that were dedicated to nothing but stakes races of the highest caliber, and each of those nights lived up to their lofty expectations, culminating with the scintillating thrills of Breeders Crown night in October.
Because of this abundance of stakes races held at MSPD in 2013, the local fans got several opportunities to witness the finest stars in the standardbred galaxy. When they name the sport’s horses of the year for 2013, it’s a safe bet that they will all have raced multiple times at the Pocono oval this season. Indeed some of the biggest names, like Captaintreacherous, I Luv The Nitelife, Bee A Magician, and Foiled Again, had their most memorable triumphs on the Pocono stage.
The easiest way to tell just how competitive the racing action has been in 2013 is to check out our track records page in the front of the program. A quick perusal of that page will show you that a stunning 20 of 24 groupings, which are separated by age, gait, and gender, have records which were set this season. Of those, 17 either set or matched world records for tracks that are 5/8-mile long like Pocono.
It is easy to get swept up in the equine accomplishments, but their human stars of the sport also helped to make Pocono racing so memorable. At press time, George Napolitano Jr. and Chris Oakes were poised to repeat as leaders in driving victories and training average, respectively. Rene Allard is headed to his first ever title in training wins. In driving UDRS, it was still too close to call between Jim Morrill Jr. and Ron Pierce.
Of course, those guys we mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg. The Pocono driving community continues to be one of the most competitive groups in the country. In addition to Napolitano, Pierce, and Morrill, Matt Kakaley, Andrew McCarthy, and Tyler Buter all topped 100 wins this season at MSPD. Six more drivers had at least 50 victories, including Pocono newcomers Marcus Miller and Simon Allard.
The training colony was equally rugged. What was notable this season was how many of the nation’s top trainers made Pocono a destination instead of a pit stop. As a result, many of the names on the Pocono training leaderboard coincided with the list of the nation’s top statistical trainers. Oakes, Allard, and Ron Burke were the biggest winners on the training side, but the victories and purses were parceled out to a wide roster of excellent handlers in 2013.
There are far too many individual moments to recount in this relatively short article, but suffice it to say that I could have gone on for quite some time detailing all of the star-making performances and jaw-dropping upsets that kept the faithful on their toes all year long. I have the best seat in the house up in my announcer’s booth, and this year has never ceased to amaze, right from Opening night through these chilly final weeks.
As always, it’s been a pleasure and an honor to have this opportunity to share my thoughts and spread the facts about the racing at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The best thing about 2013 might the feeling that I get that tells me that this year won’t be an aberration in terms of its quality and excitement. It feels like seasons like 2013 will be commonplace at the Pocono in the years to come.
So enjoy the final nights of racing at Pocono for this season and make sure to have a great holiday season. Until next year, we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Aug 26, 2013 | Racing
August 21, 2013
It was clear sailing for the freshman filly trotter Cooler Schooner in the 4th and final division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. With John Campbell at the helm, the daughter of Broadway Hall-Pine Schooner breezed through panels of :26.4, :54.4 and 1:23.2 before stopping the teletimer in an eye-popping 1:51.3 to win by 1 ½ lengths. Shake It Cerry finished a fast closing second after going a long first-over trip in the $66,446 event. The new world record holder – for any size track – is trained by Jim Campbell for Fashion Farms of New Hope, Pa.
The first division of the night was captured by Lifetime Pursuit (Yannick Gingras) in 1:55.4 for trainer Jimmy Takter. The Cantab Hall filly is owned by Brittany Farms, Versailles, Kentucky. Struck By Lindy followed first over cover up the backside and took the lead for good at the three-quarter pole to take the second division, worth $66,846, drawing off by 3 ½ lengths in 1:55.4 for driver David Miller. The Explosive Matter daughter is owned by Melvin Hartman, R A W Equine Inc. and Adam Victor & Son Stable LLC and trained by Richard Norman. In the third division, A Perfect Gem, piloted by Marcus Miller led from start to finish to record her third win-a-row for trainer Erv Miller. Paymaq Racing, Louis Willinger and Daniel Plouffe are the owners of the Yankee Glide filly, who now has seasonal earnings of $113,907.
Jul 19, 2013 | Racing
July 12-18, 2013
For the past few weeks in this column, we’ve largely concentrated on some of the outstanding stakes races that have been held recently at the track and the exploits of some of the horses who excelled in those races. With a little break in the stakes schedule at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, it seems like as good a time as any to get back to primarily profiling the overnight horses who battle it out week in and week out at MSPD. That means a return to handing out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ST PETE STAR
Being an effective claiming horse usually means that you’re going to be putting your suitcase down in a new barn practically every week. The best claiming horses can overcome this peripatetic lifestyle and find ways to win regardless of which barn they’re representing, and St Pete Star is one of those horses who have proven recently he can do just that.
St Pete Star, a 9-year-old stallion, started a winning streak on June 23 with a career-best win in 1:49:3 in a $20,000 claimer for the Paul Holzman. He followed that up six nights later by handling that same class once again, this time for the PJ Fraley barn in 1:50:2. He joined the Rene Allard barn in his effort to win his third straight in the same class on Saturday night.
Allard gave the reins to George Napolitano Jr., who sent St Pete Star to the early lead and let him do the rest. He hustled home for the victory as a 3-5 favorite in 1:51, and, for his trouble, he was claimed once again. The new barn knows it has a real commodity on its hands: A horse on such a hot streak that it might not know where he’ll next call home, but it can still find comfort in the familiarity of the Winner’s Circle.
Other top pacers this week include: Keystone Neptune (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), whose victory over the $15,000 claimers on Saturday night in a career-best 1:50:1 was his second straight and his fourth in his last five; Reckless Ric (Anthony Napolitano, Aaron Lambert), whose victory in a condition pace on Saturday night came in 1:49:1, the fastest time of the week at Pocono; and Western Guy (George Napolitano Jr., Peter Pellegrino), who moved up in class on Sunday night and still won his third straight claimer, two of which came at Pocono, this time scoring in 1:51:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: PRISMATICA
This mare started a hot streak in chilly spring temperatures in Canada and it hasn’t abated even in the stifling heat of the Northeastern Pennsylvania summer. She came into Pocono off a win at Saratoga on May 17 and promptly won the first three races she started at MSPD to cultivate a four-race winning streak overall.
Her toughest test figured to be on Tuesday night, as she took on a claiming handicap field with claiming prices ranging from $15,000 to $20,000. Considering that she started her streak at Pocono at a claiming price of $7,500, it was evident how far she had moved up in the world during this span of racing. She joined the Lou Pena barn for the race on Tuesday night.
Driver George Napolitano Jr. sent the mare to the front end early, and she was pressured throughout by several competitors. In the stretch, she dug in deep and found a way to sustain for the victory in 1:54:1. That marked the fifth consecutive win for Prismatica and it came in a career-best time. It will be interesting to see if she can move up even further and push that winning streak to new heights in the near future.
Honorable mention on the trotting side includes: DW’s NY Yank (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who burned his way to a condition trotting win on Saturday night in a new career mark of 1:51:3, which was also the fastest time at Pocono this week; C-O To Bluegrass (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who churned his way to his second straight claiming win on Tuesday night, this one in a career-best 1:54:3; and Sarah’s Hall (Matt Romano, Steven Bartholomew), a filly whose upset win in a condition trot on Friday night at 11-1 in a career-best 1:56:1 was her second straight victory.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: SCHALOM G
In a wild finish to a claiming handicap trot on Sunday night, this gelding with Marcus Miller in the bike came flying up on the far outside to win at 28-1, paying off $59.60 for a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: SIMON ALLARD
One of the newer faces in the Pocono driving community, Allard made his biggest impact yet at Pocono this week by picking up driving doubles on Saturday and Tuesday night.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: LOU PENA
Pena has been a big winner in the past at Pocono, and he’s been at it again of late. This past week he won on four straight racing nights, scoring five training wins in all.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
