Oct 30, 2019 | Racing
The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono 2019 Season Review
October 29, 2019
We are winding up the 2019 racing season here at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. It was another extremely successful campaign filled with excitement and surprises, favorites and longshots, unexpected winners and scintillating performances. In short, everything a harness racing fan could possibly want out of a racing season.
We started back in the middle of March and we are closing up shop on Saturday night, November 16. When you are in the midst of the season, it always seems like it’s flying by. But then you think back at all of the great racing that has taken place and you realize just how full of action this meet has been.
As always, we use the end of the season to take a look back at the top performers, both human and equine, for the 2019 season. One thing that stands out is the great balance that Pocono can boast, both in terms of the depth of the driving and training colony, and also in terms of the amount of outstanding horses who made the track their semi-permanent home this year.
On the equine side, it was particularly tough to choose the horses that would be honored with yearend awards. But the three horses who received the honors were extremely well-deserving and feel like the right calls.
Leading off is the amazing veteran Atta Boy Dan, who became the first horse in Pocono history to win both Pacer of the Year and Claimer of the Year honors for his winning ways at the very top of the claiming ladder. He ended in the Pete Pellegrino barn, but many different trainers had a hand in his 2019 campaign at Pocono.
Joining Atta Boy Dan on the dais are Eclipse Me N, Mare of the Year, Rich And Miserable, Trotter of the Year. Eclipse Me N proved nearly unbeatable whenever he showed up at Pocono for trainer Rene Allard to take on the featured Mares pacers on Tuesday nights. And Rich And Miserable worked his way up through the condition ladder for trainer Todd Buter until he captured the finals of the Great Northeast Open Series to culminate his amazing meet.
As far as drivers and trainers, the pressure is off us, because the awards are based on the statistics. And, as far as statistics go, there isn’t a driving stat that you can find at Pocono that doesn’t have George Napolitano Jr. sitting at the top of the list. Add two more to the ledger for George Nap, as he once again swept the titles for Pocono driving wins and driving UDRS in 2019, a campaign which saw him pick up his 10,000th career driving win and his 5,000th victory at the Pocono oval.
On the training side, Rene Allard continued his dominance by adding to his impressive string of Pocono training wins titles, as he was the only trainer to hit triple digits in wins in the 2019 meet. On the UDRS, it was a family affair, as Hunter Oakes, at press time, appeared as if he would just hold off his father Chris to win that crown.
We always talk about the champs, but the overall balance was quite impressive. In addition to George Napolitano Jr., Anthony Napolitano, Simon Allard, Tyler Buter, Matt Kakaley, Eric Carlson, and Marcus Miller all managed at least 100 driving wins in the 2019 meet at Pocono. Meanwhile, Ron Burke, Gilberto Garcia-Herrera, and Jose Godinez joined Rene Allard and Hunter Oakes in the top 5 in training victories.
We also witnessed greatness in many of our traditional stakes races, including a Sun Stakes Saturday where upsets were the order of the evening. It was also nice to see many horses who made their way through Pocono in 2019 were able to perform extremely well in the Breeders Crown races in Canada recently.
With all that in mind, it is just about time to move on from the 2019 campaign. Certainly, we look forward to being back in 2020 and doing it all over again.
But before that, I’d just like to say thanks to all of the horsemen and women for their outstanding efforts in 2019. I’d like to thank all of the employees at The Downs at Mohegan Sun as well, all of whom, I assure you, have a more difficult job than mine and are responsible for making the product come off so seamlessly each racing night.
And, finally, on behalf of all of us at Pocono, I’d like to send out heartfelt thanks to the fans. Ever since I started writing this column some 15 years ago, I’ve been saying that our fans are the best in the sport and are the heart and soul of our racing product. A lot of things change in this world. Thankfully, that hasn’t been one of them.
That will do it for the 2019 season at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Apr 3, 2019 | Racing
March 30-April 5, 2019
Now that we are finally up and running four racing days/nights a week, we can hand out our first edition of the Weekly Awards. Apologies to Epaulette A, whose pacing performances surely would have garnered an award or two in the first two weeks of racing when we were still on a partial schedule here at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. But we’re on full-go now, so let’s hand out those awards to some deserving honorees.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ROCKEYED OPTIMIST
We saw a year ago how McWicked, a horse who had largely fallen off the radar, returned to his former glory with a stellar season. Rockeyed Optimist might not reach those heights, but his career arc is travelling a similar path. Once one of the fastest pacers in the game, the right-year-old gelding was lightly raced and didn’t do much in 2017, winning just two out of 14 races. But he seems to be coming back to something near his old form, having already matched his 2018 win total the past few weeks.
On March 23, he fired out to an early lead and scored a victory in a $12,500 condition pace at Pocono in 1:51:1. On Saturday might, the Jake Leamon trainee left from post position #3 in a field of eight. Even though he was stepping up a couple notches to the $17,500 level, he still went off as the 2-5 favorite. Fans remember what this horse can do, and they bet him as such.
Rockeyed Optimist hardly had an easy time of it. After swooping to the lead around the first turn, he was nicely rated by driver Mitchell Cushing. That rate job was important, because Black Chevron provided a stern challenge with a strong first-over move. But the veteran proved up to the task late, holding off Black Chevron by three-quarters of a length in 1:52:1. It should be fun to watch just how close he gets to his former self before this hot stretch is complete.
Other top pacers this week include: River Runs Deep (Jim Morrill Jr, Peter Pellegrino), who moved up in class Saturday night to capture his second straight claiming race, this one in a career-best time of 1:52:4; A And C Artist (George Napolitano Jr, Matthew Adamczyk), who captured his second straight claimer on Sunday night in 1:55:1; and Eddard Hanover (Anthony Napolitano, Ron Burke), winner of Saturday night’s featured condition pace in 1:53:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: PAPPY GO GO
Pappy Go Go had to be burning with anger following his race at Pocono on March 23. In that race, he nearly went gate-to-wire from a #9 post in a $14,000 condition trot. But the effort it took to get to the lead seemed to get the better of him, as he was handled in the stretch, ending up second. On Saturday night, he faced off against the same group, this time from a #2 post. And the results were markedly different, as he put on one of the most impressive trotting performances of 2019.
In the race Saturday, Pappy Go Go settled third early while Maximuscle cut out an aggressive pace. On the back stretch, driver George Napolitano Jr. tipped Pappy Go Go to the outside on the back stretch, and 1-5 race favorite went by Maximuscle in a flash. But he didn’t stop there. The five-year-old gelding kept opening up the lead and quickening the pace until the rest of the field was flailing behind him.
From there, it was only a matter of how much the margin would be and how fast the final time. The answers were eye-popping: Pappy Go Go, trained by Andrew Harris came home 12 ¾ lengths in front, the largest margin at Pocono so far in the meet, while his winning time of 1:52 was not only a career best and the tops at Pocono in the meet, but it was also the fastest trot posted this year in North America. I guess you could say that Pappy Go Go took out his frustration in very productive fashion.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Muscle Fashion (Jim Morrill Jr., Antonella Galie), who scored his second straight condition win on Sunday night, getting it done in 1:56:1; Winning Shadow (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who won Sunday night’s featured condition trot in 1:55:1; and Run Lindy Run (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who posted the fastest time among winners in the distaff trotting group of the Bobby Weiss series on Tuesday with a victory in 1:56:4.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: BASS PLAYER
This claiming pacer struck all the right notes on Saturday night, springing an upset with Eric Carlson in the bike at 26-1, paying off $55.80 to win on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TYLER BUTER
Buter is off to an excellent start to begin the 2019 meet, picking off where he left off at the end of last year, and he chalked up a multiple wins on Sunday and Monday to show his prowess.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: ROB HARMON
Harmon followed up a pair of training wins on Sunday night with a victory on Monday with 20-1 shot Carson Hill.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Aug 26, 2014 | Racing
August 15-21, 2014
This week’s racing was filled with the thrilling action we’ve come to expect of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. And, to spice things up even further, the Pocono faithful witnessed the matching of a track and world record this week. That record-setting performance kicks off our attempt to sum up all of the action at Pocono this week by handing out the Weekly Awards.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: FRAU BLUCHER
This four-year-old mare named after Cloris Leachman’s character in Young Frankenstein had scared up a lot of success in the first two years, earning over $900,000 combined in her two and three-year-old seasons. Yet this standout from the Chris Oakes barn went winless in her first five starts this year, including a second against the non-winners of over $10,000 in the last five starts condition at Pocono on August 12 when she was heavily favored.
On Tuesday night, she went up against that same condition group, once again as a solid favorite at 4-5. Only this time around, the mare was ready to show her class and then some. Driver George Napolitano Jr. sent her to the lead with a brush on the front stretch. From there, Frau Blucher kept extending her lead until the rest of the field was a distant memory. She was 8 ¼ lengths in front at the line, with the only suspense at that point being how fast she actually went in the victory.
The timer showed a ridiculous 1:51:2, which matched the world record on a 5/8-mile oval for four-year-old trotting mares. The horse who set that record back in May at Pocono, Classic Martine, is also trained by Chris Oakes. So that proves that the Oakes barn has a whole lot of talent. But it also proves that Frau Blucher is back on top of her game, so elite trotters all over the country best take heed.
Other top trotters this week include: Mistery Woman (Ron Pierce, Jonas Czernyson), a Meadowlands shipper who captured Saturday night’s featured condition pace in a career-best 1:52; DC’s Piggy Bank (Matt Kakaley, Peter Pellegrino), who picked up his second straight claiming win on Sunday night in 1:56:2; and Inside Broadway (George Napolitano Jr., Gilberto Garcia-Herrera), who powered his way to his second straight claiming victory on Wednesday night, this one in a career-best 1:54:2.
PACER OF THE WEEK: LYONS JOHNNY
While there were no track records coming from this 6-year-old gelding, he certainly has impressed since August dawned. Considering that he had slumped to back-to-back seventh-place finishes in his last two starts of July, such rejuvenation seemed extremely unlikely at the time. It took a drop down the condition ladder and a barn change to get him in gear again.
On August 3, his first start in the Amber Buter barn, Lyons Johnny dominated that lower condition group by 4 ¼ lengths in a career-best 1:50:1. Buoyed by that fine effort, he moved back up in class to face the non-winners of $7,000 in the last five races on Tuesday night. Faced with the prospect of an outside post and a tougher field with several horses sporting solid back class, it seemed like a tough test.
With George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, Lyons Johnny aggressively took over the lead with a front stretch move. Although the fractions were quick, he stayed strong up front and sped clear of some late pressure for his second straight win, this one coming in 1:50:3. Another move up in class could be in the near future for this suddenly red-hot pacer.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: Victorydazewillwin (Simon Allard, Daniel Munson), who notched his second straight win over the $15,000 claimers on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:50:4; It’s That Time (Anthony Napolitano, Kevin Lare), whose victory in a claiming handicap on Saturday night came in 1:49:2, a new career-best and the fastest pacing time of the week at MSPD; and All Fired Up (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), who sprung from the pocket for his second straight claiming handicap victory on Wednesday night, doing it in a career-best time of 1:51:3.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: GUANTANAMO BAY
2-year-olds are some of the most unpredictable horses, as this freshman pacer with Kevin Wallis in the bike showed on Sunday, winning at 30-1 for a $62.80 payout on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: KEVIN WALLIS
The veteran driver has been finding his rhythm of late at Pocono, as evidenced by four wins this week, two of which came with horses at odds of longer than 15-1.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: TONY ALAGNA
Alagna has won a high percentage of his races this season at Pocono, and Sunday night he picked up wins with two of the three horses he sent to the gate.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
May 30, 2014 | Racing
May 10-16, 2014
For the past few years, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs has been the place to be if you wanted to witness world records being set. The combination of top-notch racing and a speedy track surface has torn the record books to shreds. It usually takes nice weather conditions for world records to fall, however, which is probably why the chilly first month-and-a-half of the meet didn’t produce any. But conditions were ripe on Saturday night, and, lo and behold, our first world record of the season fell. That stellar performance highlights the Weekly Awards.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: CLASSIC MARTINE
Trainer Chris Oakes is one of Pocono’s biggest success stories over the years, a local trainer whose horses compete on a national level in some of the biggest races of the country. Classic Martine, a four-year-old mare, is certainly one of those superstar performers. After a stellar 3-year-old season which included a dead heat win the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship with fellow Oakes trainee Frau Blucher, she started 2014 hot as well with a win at The Meadows in Preferred company on April 30.
On Saturday night, she took to the stage in a Preferred trot at Pocono, only this time she was facing the stallions and geldings instead of other mares. Still, she was made the 3-5 favorite based on her impressive history, and driver Brett Miller drove her aggressively and sent her to the lead on the front stretch. From there, she had to deal with relentless first-over pressure from Coraggioso.
That pressure led to sizzling fractions throughout the race, but Classic Martine rose to the challenge, speeding home three-quarters of a length in front of Coraggioso in an unbelievably fast 1:51:2. Not only did that break the world record for 4-year-old trotting mares of 1:51:4, it also set the mark for the fastest trotting time ever achieved by a female trotter on a 5/8-mile oval. That’s not bad for just her second start of the year. Who else wants to see what she can do the rest of the season?
Other top trotters this week include: DWs Jasmine (Jim Morrill Jr., Peter Pellegrino), a mare who moved up in class to the $10,000 claimers on Sunday night and came away with her second straight win in 1:56, matching her career-best time; Ibanez (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who shipped in from The Meadows and captured Tuesday night’s featured claiming handicap in 1:54:2, a new career mark; and Skyline Road (Jim Morrill Jr., Bill Mullin), who moved up in class but still reeled off his third straight condition win on Wednesday night in a career-best time of 1:52:4.
PACER OF THE WEEK: NITRO SEELSTER
Sunday night’s featured condition pace for colts, stallions, and geldings who were non-winners of four races was stacked with shippers from other tracks who had been impressive in their previous starts. When that occurs, sometimes the horses who had already been racing at Pocono are overlooked. Sometimes it’s justified, but other times, as in the case of Nitro Seelster, it’s a mistake.
Despite having won in the same class in his previous start in 1:51:3, the 4-year-old gelding from the barn of trainer Douglas Hamilton was let go at 10-1 odds. But driver Brett Miller drove him with confidence, sending him to the lead around the first turn and burning it up with imposing fractions. All of the talented shippers took their shots, but none could get by.
In the stretch, Nitro Seelster faced a determined bid from Rock Out but held up strong for the victory by three-quarters of a length. Tripping the line in 1:49 was extremely impressive, especially considering that the gelding didn’t start racing until this season, skipping his two and three-year-old campaigns. The bottom line is that this young pacer needs to be considered a force no matter where his composition originates.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: Emeritus Maximus (Andrew McCarthy, Thomas Cancelliere), who fired up a late rally to win the week’s featured Preferred pace on Saturday night in 1:49:4; South Pacific (Andrew McCarthy, Thomas Cancelliere), who moved up in class on Tuesday night and scored his second straight victory in 1:51:1, which was the fastest in his career; and Ring Leda (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena),who survived an outside post to score his second straight claiming win on Wednesday night, matching his career-best of 1:51 in the process.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: PAINKILLER
This 3-year-old gelding with Tyler Buter in the bike snuck up the passing lane late on Tuesday night in a condition pace as a 24-1 shot and came home a winner, paying off $51.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANDREW MCCARTHY
It seems like McCarthy becomes more of a force every year at Pocono, and he stepped it up this week with driving triples on Saturday and Tuesday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: CHRIS OAKES
We mentioned Chris’ success with Classic Martine earlier in the article, but it was an all-around outstanding week for his barn, as he scored five training wins at Pocono.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Aug 12, 2013 | Racing
August 1-7, 2013
The month of August started out without the sizzling temperatures that are the norm for this time of year in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a good thing then that plenty of heat was generated on the track at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs this past racing week. It’s gets harder and harder to narrow down the very best of the outstanding performances we see each and every night at Pocono, but that’s what we’ll try to do right now by handing out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: MATTADOR D
It’s not easy to jump even a little bit in class in the harness racing wars at Pocono and have any bit of success. To make a big jump and see immediate results is a rare accomplishment indeed because of the extremely competitiveness of the scene. Yet Mattador D took a pretty daunting leap up the claiming ladder on Saturday night and handled it impressively.
It certainly helped that the 5-year-old gelding came into the race on a hot streak. He beat a group of $10,000 claimers on July 20 in 1:52:1, then followed it up the next week with a victory over the $12,500 claimers in 1:51:4. Still, those winning times didn’t figure to hack it on Saturday night against the $20,000 claimers. In his first start for trainer Lou Pena, Mattador D would have to step his game.
The gelding answered that challenge in sterling fashion. With George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, he hustled to the front end early and had to face severe pressure throughout the mile. Yet he sustained and came out on top in a career-best 1:50:2. It should be fun to watch Mattador D keep climbing that ladder and see how high he can get before someone slows his rapid ascent.
Other top pacers this week include: B N Bad (George Napolitano Jr., Peter Pellegrino), who powered to a condition pacing win on Saturday night in a career-best 1:49:2, which was the fastest time posted all week long at Pocono; Allamerican Daddy (Eric Carlson, Eddie Nickle), who staged a furious rally to win his second straight $10,000 claimer on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:51:4; and Audreys Dream (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who won Saturday night’s featured condition pace in 1:50.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: LIGHTNING STORM
While Mattador D provided a good example of a horse hot enough to move up in class, our Trotter of the Week this week is one who needed to drop down to find the groove. There’s no shame in such a move, since it doesn’t make any sense for an owner to keep sending a horse over and over into a class that he can’t handle. It’s better for the horse to find a group in which he can do damage.
Lightning Storm, a 4-year-old stallion from the Lou Pena barn, had success early in the meet in some rugged condition trots and then moved up into the Preferred trots in the month of June, taking on the best trotters on the grounds. He seemed overmatched with that class, finishing way up the track from the winners in three straight races.
It was only when he dropped back into the non-winners of $16,000 condition trots on July 19 that he found his stride again, winning that night in a career-best 1:53:2. On Friday night he was back at in the same class, and he once again controlled the action, winning in 1:54:3 this time around with George Napolitano Jr. in the bike. Now that he’s built up his confidence again, this might be the right time for Lightning Storm to try it again with some heavier hitters.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: CDs Eldorado (Joe Pavia Jr., Jason Robinson), whose victory over the $10,000 claimers in a career-best 1:55:2 on Tuesday night gave him wins in three straight and four of his last five; Biltmore (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), whose romping victory in a condition trot on Wednesday night in 1:55:1 was his third win in his last four races; and In Your Room (Mike Simons, Gail Wrubel), who rolled to a condition win on Wednesday night in 1:53, the fastest trotting time of the week at MSPD.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: HYANNIS HANOVER
This 2-year-old trotter had quite the memorable debut on Wednesday night, rallying from way back for driver Bret Brittingham to score at 90-1, paying off $182.60 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
It took a little while, but George has ascended to his usual position atop the drivers’ standings at Pocono. He was especially lethal last weekend, picking up seven combined wins on Friday and Saturday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: DOUGLAS BERKELEY
Berkeley has been a force at Pocono for the past few seasons, and he made his presence felt this week with a pair of 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].
