Jul 14, 2015 | Racing
The father/son team of driver Marcus and trainer Erv Miller accounted for half of the six divisions of a $180,000 Pennsylvania All-Stars event for state-sired two-year-old pacing colts on the first Friday card of the season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, while driver Dave Palone and trainer Ron Burke bookended the action for babies.
The fastest of the three wins for Team Miller was the 1:53.3 triumph of He’s Marvalous, a son of Delmarvalous (hence the spelling: remember the Del(aware)-Mar(yland)-V(irgini)a peninsula). He’s Marvalous made every pole a winning one while closing in 56 – 27.1 for the combine of Badlands Racing LLC and L. A. Express Stable LLC.
Also flying the Miller colors in Victory Lane were the McArdle colt McDave, longest price of the six at
7-1, as he rallied from the pocket into back splits of 55.1 – 27.2 to score in 1:53.4 for owners Ronald Michelon and David & John Prushnok, along with Ideal Jimmy, an altered son of Western Ideal who was a “pocket rocket,” gaining into a 27.4 kicker to stop the clock in 1:54 for owner D R Van Witzenburg.
Palone/Burke got the evening’s stakes action underway with a victory with the Well Said colt Genovese, who made a backstretch brush of 26.4 in going from fifth to the lead and then on to victory in 1:53.2. Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Jack Piatt III, and The Panhellenic Stable Corporation own Genovese; the first two share ownership with the JJK Stables LLC and Lawrence Karr of the other Palone/Burke winner, the Yankee Cruiser colt Allie’s Cruiser, who made a quarter-move and then sped home in 27.1 to complete a 1:53 victory,.
The 1:53 time of Allie’s Cruiser equaled the fastest clocking of the stakes sextet, which was earlier put up by a colt sired by The Panderosa, Bank Shot Hanover, in familiar style for driver George Napolitano Jr. – on the engine – trainer Daniel Renaud and owner Robert DiNozzi.
May 18, 2015 | Racing
Yagonnakissmeornot, benefiting from her versatility and the hot team of driver Simon Allard and trainer/brother Rene, moved off second-over cover to catch pacesetting Ooh Bad Shark and record a half-length victory in a $30,000 mares open handicap pace Wednesday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Coming off a win in the Chip Noble Pace at Miami Valley and a second in the Blue Chip Final at Yonkers before that, Yagonnakissmeornot left from post seven in the eight-horse field and tucked fifth early as Ooh Bad Shark assumed the lead after the 26.4 quarter and posted middle splits of 55.2 and 1:23. Simon Allard had the daughter of The Panderosa in high gear midway on the final turn, and by midstretch it was apparent that the winner would catch the frontstepper, and she did in 1:50.3, with “Kiss”’s own last half 54.2 over an oval not known to be favorable to closers.
Yagonnakissmeornot, now a career winner of $971,366, paid $4.20 in winning for Allard Racing Inc, Yves Sarrazin, and Kapildeo Singh; second choice Anndrovette, assigned the outside post eight, had traffic trouble and finished off the board.
Apr 8, 2015 | Racing
Four of the first five winners at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Tuesday night, April 7th, paid the 5 cents to a dollar legal minimum profit in winning, including three visitors to Victory Lane during $15,000 third round series action of the Bobby Weiss Series – with the quartet tallying by a combined 21 lengths.
The trotting males were up first, and two Meadowlands invader took all the money, both pari-mutuel and purse. First up was the Crazed gelding JL Cruze, who has already bankrolled $133,000+ this year winning three series at the Jersey oval and racking up an effortless 12¼-length score in his mountain debut for trainer Eric Ell and driver John Campbell. The winner tripped the timer in 1:54.1 over a sloppy surface after making every pole a winning one for owners Ken Wood, William Dittmar Jr., and Stephen Iaquinta.
Opulent Yankee, who has caused the “2” in JL Cruze’s 11-9-2-0 season’s record, was next up, and he was 3½ lengths to the good at the end of his 1:54.2 triumph. Team Orange Crush, driver Andy and trainer Julie Miller, guide the fortunes of the Muscles Yankee gelding for Little E LLC, Arthur Geiger, Jason Settlemoir, and David Stolz.
In the first of two pacing mare divisions, the Burke / Weaver Bruscemi entry took all the money and finished 1-2, as Donttellruss got her first Weiss win in two starts, turning back Allthatjazz De Vie, who was successful in her initial series outing, in 1:53.3. Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi share ownership of the Andrew McCarthy-driven winning daughter of Panspacificflight with Lawrence Karr and Frank Baldachino.
In the second distaff sidewheelers cut, a Burke entry was also favored, but they had to settle for second and third behind the only two-time Weiss winner in this section, the Somewheresomebeach mare The Beach NextDoor, taking a new mark of 1:53 under the guidance of Jim Morrill Jr. The winner’s dam is named On The Choo Choo, and those are the tactics Morrill successfully employed for trainer Brewer Adams and the partnership of Adams Racing LLC and Brian Clark.
The fourth 1-20* horse, in the card’s opener, was the well-regarded altered son of The Panderosa, Heavenly Knox, who made short work of his assignment in a personal best of 1:51.3. Triumphant in the Walter Russell Series Final at The Meadows in his last start, Heavenly Knox is now 8 for 9 lifetime, with driver David Miller and trainer Mark Ford entrusted with the care of the winner by new owners George and Rose Bonomo.
The four “sureshots” attracted plenty of money “underneath” as well, as $60,000 to show among all but JL Cruze; his race had no show betting, so over $20,000 went into the place pool on him.
(But all is not chalk in the Pocono pari-mutuels: Hall of Famer John Campbell paid $25.60 to win in a race on the card, and he finished third, beaten a length, at 75-1 in another.)
Nov 4, 2014 | Racing
November 1, 2014
Trotter Opening Night and pacing mare Yagonnakissmeornot won the twin feature Open Handicap races on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Each of those races carried a purse of $35,000.
In the Open Handicap Trot, Opening Night (Broadway Hall-Rare Elegance), a 6-year-old stallion from the Jim Campbell barn, overcame an outside post to work out a pocket trip and win a four-way battle in the stretch by a nose. Driven by Ron Pierce, Opening Night, an 11-1 shot, held off Tirade Hanover by a nose in 1:53. Whata Donato finished third while 6-5 Not Afraid was just inches back of the winner in fourth.
Pierce also guided the winner of the Open Handicap pace for mares, as Yagonnakissmeornot (The Panderosa-Artstopper), a 5-year-old barn from the Rene Allard barn, continued her brilliant season and atoned for a clunker in her last start at Pocono by gutting out a front-end win as a 6-5 favorite. Despite imposing fractions, Yagonnakissmeornot was able to hold off the first-over charge of Rockaround Sue to win by a neck in 1:50:1, her 13th win of the season. Spirit Of Desire finished third.
Sep 2, 2014 | Racing
Seven powerful mares hit the track for the Preferred Handicap race at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on Friday evening.
George Napolitano Jr. gunned Show Runner (Little Steven – Peace Runner) out of the gate first, followed by Yagonnakissmeornot (The Panderosa-Artstopper, driven by Simon Allard; and Anndrovette (Riverboat King – Easy Miss), picking up a new driver in Andrew McCarthy, at odds of 3-5 , went three-wide to soon take over the lead. Fractions were 26.2; 55.3; 123; and the $3 million-plus mare held on for a gutsy win over the fast-charging Yagonnakissmeornot, flying up the rail at the wire in a final time of 1:50.3. Arodasi (Western Terror – Do Me Justice) with Kevin Wallis picking up the drive, finished third.
Anndrovette, trained by P J. Fraley, now has six wins for the season.
In an earlier race on the card, Krispy Apple (Western Ideal-Apple Krisp) picked up her first win of the season in dominating fashion and posted a new lifetime mark of 1:48.4. The mare is also trained by P J Fraley, and was also driven to victory by Andrew McCarthy.
