By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
HUGHESVILLE PA – The Pennsylvania harness racing fair season finally got underway on Wednesday and Thursday with a 2-day Sire Stakes event at the Lycoming County Fairgrounds in Hughesville PA, not far from Williamsport, the (usual) home of the Little League World Series.
 
And as somehow seems right in our current topsy-turvy situation, the meet’s fastest miles came from unusual sources: the fastest mile of the meet, 2:00.4, came from a two-year-old in the very first heat of the year, and the second-fastest miles, both in 2:02.1, were generated by a trotter and a pacer winning a “B” division of the Sires.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – A trio of three-year-old trotting fillies, already dropped in to go in next Wednesday’s Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action here at Harrah's Philadelphia, got nice warm-ups six days in advance Thursday at the southeast Pennsylvania oval, with two winning and the other a bang-up second in mixed company overnights. 
 
Next Level Stuff won the day’s $13,600 feature in 1:54 for driver Tim Tetrick. A daughter of Sebastian K, Next Level Stuff was spotted third early, and when his filly’s most dangerous opponent, Bully Boy, made a break before the half, Tetrick could wait until late on the backstretch until starting forward to try to gain the lead. Grapple Hanover put up a brave showing on the front end, but Next Level Stuff was able to wear him down by a length, making her 2-for-2 this season and 8-for-12 lifetime. Jim Campbell trains the winner of $179,055 for the Runthetable Stables.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – On a Wednesday afternoon when the Harrah’s Philadelphia oval was favoring forwardly-placed horses, driver Tim Tetrick sent the pacing mare Affluent Seelster to the lead in front of the stands, then held off the inside drive of the horse they had looped early, Take Abit Of Life, by a head to post a new mark of 1:53 while winning the $12,800 distaff feature.
 
The daughter of Mach Three now has three victories in only five seasonal outings, and she increased his lifetime earnings to $61,849 for trainer Paul Stafford and the partnership of Stafford Racing Inc. and Thomas Ceraso Jr.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Pennsylvania All-Stars series brings together this weekend two interesting groups of colts at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono – three-year-old trotters on Saturday afternoon and two-year-old pacers on Sunday’s twilight card.
 
17 of the 27 trotters entered in Saturday’s thee $30,000 divisions of All-Stars races are eligible to contest the sport’s greatest prize, The Hambletonian, on Saturday, August 8. The owners and trainers of the Hambo eligibles will be getting a good reading on their horses’ ability exactly three weeks before the elimination races for the Hambletonian.
 
Amigo Volo is the richest and probably the best-known of the entrants. The altered son of Father Patrick, trained by Nifty Norman for the Pinske Stables and David J. Miller, earned $610,546 at age two and set four world records for his age, sex, and gait. He undoubtedly needed his seasonal debut last week after not having raced since November, and he will have the services of Pocono’s leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., as he seeks to further establish his Hambo credentials while starting from post two in the eighth race All-Stars section.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Allywag Hanover and Captain Groovy, both three-year-old pacing colts who have already won in 1:48 in this shortened season of primetime racing, are among five fields racing after $39,432 each in their first preliminary leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia. There will also be six $20,000 divisions of the companion Pennsylvania Stallion Series action.
 
The Captaintreacherous colt Allywag Hanover did in fact enter for the elimination races for the Meadowlands Pace, which were to have been conducted this Saturday. But when only twelve colts dropped in for that event, the conditions of the race called for “byes” to be offered to the top seasonal moneywinners, with two going directly to the rich July 18 event and the other ten racing there this week, with the top eight coming back for the Pace final. Allywag Hanover was second in seasonal earnings and opted out to come to Philly, as did Chief Mate, who was third in 2020 earnings.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Two-year-olds were in the spotlight during the Tuesday afternoon card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with four freshmen looking to have bright prospects after capturing their first purse starts.
 
The faster of two events for pacing colts was the JK Endofanera – Nashville Blues colt JK Objection, who stopped the timer in 1:54.1. Andrew McCarthy made his move after early contention, got the lead near the half, then posted successive :28.1 fractions home to win nicely for driver Andrew McCarthy, trainer Nancy Takter, and the 3 Brothers Stables.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Two more trotting colts from the seemingly-endless line produced by the Marcus Melander stable were among the three winners of $30,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars event for freshmen conducted Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
The faster of the two winners from Melander, last year’s Trainer of the Year, was the colt In Range, by Bar Hopping out of Ilia (the dam of $400G+ winners Tight Lines and Long Tom). Tim Tetrick hustled the baby away from the rail, kept him in line when he suffered some “Pocono paddock greenness” coming off the first turn (where the Pocono paddock is), yielded to stablemate Incentive for the two-hole, then came up the inside in the stretch to catch his barnmate by 1¾ lengths in 1:55.1. The fast freshman is owned by AMG Stable Inc., Kenneth Kjellgren, Tomas Asell, and Rick Wahlstadt.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Betterthancheddar mare Miss You N, given a fine pocket trip by driver Scott Zeron, gained into a :54.3 last half to catch pacesetter Vorst by a half-length while taking a new mark of 1:51.2 in winning the $14,000 pacing feature for mares during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
Miss You N was away quickly and stretched Vorst to a :27.2 opener, then yielded and sat in the two-hole as Vorst got a breather to a :56.4 half. Favored Apple Bottom Jeans made a good first-over move to and past a 1:24 three-quarters to challenge, but eventually the race came down to the first two inside horses, and Zeron utilized the Pocono Pike to catch the pacesetter. Ross Croghan trains the winner for the partnership of Let It Ride Stables Inc. and Bottom Line Racing LLC, who saw their mare boost her bankroll to $181,430.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – After posting six winners Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, driver George Napolitano Jr. went two better by triumphing eight times on Saturday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, including taking both $17,200 featured races and also guiding the two fastest winners on the card.
 
The features were separated in time only by a fifth of a second, but the “slower” mile was probably the more impressive – because it was posted by a trotter, the talented Explosive Matter mare Pat Matters, who took a new mark of 1:51.4, also the fastest trot mile of the year here. Napolitano made two speed moves with the winner of $263,606 in setting fractions of :27, :55.3, and 1:23.3, who then showed determination to the wire in holding off 36-1 threat Stormy Kromer by a head. Nifty Norman saw his trainee notch her second straight triumph for the Patricia Stable.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The 2020 stakes season kicks into high gear starting Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with three nine-horse divisions of two-year-old trotting colts getting their first taste of fast-class action in $30,000 sections of the group’s Pennsylvania All-Stars racing.
 
The barn of Marcus Melander, voted the 2019 Trainer of the Year after sending out Greenshoe, Gimpanzee, and a seemingly-endless line of quality stakes trotters, will be harnessing the favorites in two of the divisions. In race seven, Melander actually has the two favorites in the morning line, with the Father Patrick – Tanya’s Dance colt Incentive given a slight edge off a 1:57.2 Meadowlands victory as he starts from post three for driver Brian Sears; In Range, the Bar Hopping – Ilia colt who finished second to Incentive in his first lifetime start, will try to turn the tables on his barnmate from post one for driver Tim Tetrick.