Jun 19, 2012 | Racing
June 17, 2012
Rockin Glass kept alive a winning streak by topping the best pacers on the grounds in Sunday night’s featured race at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race, which was held for winners of over $25,000 lifetime, carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Rockin Glass, who came in to the race with three straight wins even though he moved up in class each time, stepped up to the top pacing group for trainer Lee Cotroneo as the 5-2 second choice. Leaving from post position #3 in a field of eight, the 4-year-old gelding sired by Rocknroll Hanover began his move to the lead on the front stretch, although he didn’t clear favorite Meirs Hanover until a few yards shy of the ½-mile marker.
In the stretch, Meirs Hanover came back to challenge in the passing lane and pulled up even, but George Napolitano Jr., who capped a big day that included his 5,000 career driving win at Harrah’s at Philadelphia this afternoon, coaxed more out of Rockin Glass, who scored the victory by a neck in 1:50. Meirs Hanover settled for 2nd while Mcclelland picked up the show.
Rockin Glass now has victories in half of his 2012 starts. It was 16th career win, giving him lifetime earnings of $197,735.
Jun 3, 2012 | Racing
June 2, 2012
AJ Corbelli came from last at the three-quarter pole to prevail in the featured pace on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race, which was a condition for winners of over $25,000 lifetime, carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Leaving from post position #6 in a field of eight at odds of 6-1, A J Corbelli, who hails from the barn of Rene Allard, was content to sit at the back of the back as crushing fractions were laid down by Schoolkids early and Blatantly Good in the middle half of the race. Driver George Napolitano Jr. set the 5-year-old gelding sired by Rocknroll Hanover in motion into the clubhouse turn, and, even though he was still last at the three-quarter pole, A J Corbelli sped by all the tiring horses out wide late to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:50. Dancin Yankee finished second and Custard The Dragon picked up the show. Won The West, closing in on $4 million in his career, paced 4th in his 2012 debut.
A J Corbelli won for fifth time in 12 2012 races. It was his 16th career victory and it pushed his lifetime earnings to $240,204.
May 8, 2012 | Racing
WILKES-BARRE PA — Special T Rocks shrugged off a tough trip to win the $50,000 Van Rose Memorial Invitational Pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Saturday night, May 5th, in the process equaling the world record of 1:48.3 for four-year-old altered pacers on a five-eighth mile track.
The son of Rocknroll Hanover was driven gamely by his trainer Daryl Bier, also co-owner with Forest Bartlett and Joann Dombeck — yanking back into a 3-hole early, then snapping back out with cover after Dial Or Nodial, who was the force behind the opening splits of 26.3 and 53.3, wagered war with uncovered Fred And Ginder through and past the 1:21 three-quarters. Despite the hard usage, Bier still had a ton of horse, and confidently tipped his horse 3-deep late on the turn. The rocket-fast four-year-old took it from there, filling his hopples to the wire to break the Pocono division track mark (1:49.2, Tivoli Hanover, 2008) while equaling Maltese Artist’s world standard for this size of oval (Dover, 2005). The all-age mark for the 5/8s is 1:48, co-set by Artistic Fella, Mister Big, and We Will See, the last-named doing it at Pocono last year.
Dancin Yankee, kept off the scorching pace, found room in the lane and was up for 2nd at long odds, with Dial Or Nodial, a Breeders Crown competitor last year, hanging tough for the show dough.
Special T Rocks raised his seasonal record to an enviable 16-9-3-1, with a bankroll already this year of $182,250, and a lifetime sum of $259,964.
The race honored Clarence Van Rose, a longtime writer for the local Times-Leader newspaper who passed away last year, with Pocono management thoughtfully staging the event for the native of Kentucky on a day a certain special horse race is held in the Bluegrass State. Van saw the Pocono tide rise and fall over the years, and he himself would probably be the first to remark that “his” mile was probably about 15 seconds faster than the average of all the races he witnessed at Pocono over the years.
