By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Hurrikane Willie G, showing his first-rate pedigree as of late, trotted to his third straight victory during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, taking his gait’s division of the three $15,000 divisions of the featured class on the program in 1:57.2.
 
A four-year-old altered son of Donato Hanover – Housethatruthbuilt (combined earnings of parents $4,163,708, average mark 1:51.2), Hurrikane Willie G quarter-moved past a :28.1 opener, put up middle splits of :58 and 1:27.2, then won by two lengths over 60-1 pocketsitter Final Class while looking to have more in the tank. Backed by Team Pantaleano, driver Jim and trainer Christen, and owned by Morrison Racing Stables, Hurrikane Willie G, now a winner of half his twelve lifetime starts, is making early steps on what may be a prolonged climb up the class ladder.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Due to swings in weather conditions in the last few days that have potentially impacted the safety of the racing surface, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono is cancelling its scheduled racing card for Saturday afternoon, February 26.
 
The second round of the Game Of Claims Series, for horses base-valued this week at $17,500 and $27,500, will be held next Saturday, March 5, and those horses must again be declared in for the draw for those races by Monday morning. The third prelim leg and the final will also be pushed back a week.
 
Racing will resume on Sunday, February 27 with a 5 p.m. card. Next racing week, March 5th through 7th, Pocono expands its schedule to three days a week, with racing Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m., and then adding Monday racing at 1:30 p.m.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Matt Kakaley Show continued to be the featured attraction on the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, as the 33-year-old piloted home six winners (only one of them the favorite) to bring his total to fifteen victories after the first cards of 2022.
 
One of the successful sextet for Matt was Getyourlicenseliam, a Control The Moment gelding who took the division of the $15,000 tri-features for male pacers with a 1:54.2 win. Luckless in two starts since coming Stateside, Getyourlicenseliam made two speed moves, yielded to sit the pocket behind Lincoln Boulevard, then used the Pocono Pike to first pass the pacesetter and then withstand the grinding first-over Mudville by a neck for trainer Nicholas Devita and owner Robert Stasio.

By: Jerry Connors,  Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Despite subfreezing temperatures and a howling headstretch wind, driver Matt Kakaley, who won five races on the opening card of the season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono last Saturday, came back with his hot hands intact this Saturday, winning four more races, including the fastest divisions of the first preliminary leg in two of the track’s Game Of Claims series.
 
Horses with a base price of $25,000 and $15,000 were each gathered in five divisions, each with purses of $20,000 and $12,500 respectively, of the first of three Game Of Claims preliminaries, looking to earn enough points to make their rich series championship on Saturday, March 12.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The annual winter series at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the Game Of Claims Series, gets underway this Saturday afternoon at the northeast Pennsylvania oval, with two pacing sections contesting the first of three preliminary legs to see which horses can earn their way into their rich series finals on Saturday, March 12.
 
Starters in each preliminary leg earn 25 points, and then their order of finish gets them an additional 50-25-12-8-5-4-3-2-1 points. The top pointearners among the $25,000 base-tag horses will go for $40,000 in their final, with the $15,000 base-tag horses chasing a $25,000 bounty. Of course, horses can be claimed out of each start in the series (the base price goes up fractionally in each leg), and top horseflesh will be eagerly pursued by owners and trainers via the claiming box.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The 2022 harness racing season got underway at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday afternoon, with the weather fair (45 degrees, no moisture) and a pair of $15,000 features, one on each gait, as the headline events.
 
In the trotting contest, the Better Caviar gelding Real McCoy was guided around first-turn trouble by driver Matt Kakaley, sat third until making his move on the far turn, then took over in the stretch and held off the closer Keeper Of Secrets by a length in 1:58. A winner in two of his last four starts, Real McCoy is trained by 18-year-old Bryson Dunning for 69-year-old owner Dante Scattolini, who last season drove the winner in an amateur event at The Meadows for his first sulky win in 33 years. For Kakaley, the victory was one of five on the day.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The 2022 harness racing season in eastern Pennsylvania began in earnest on Monday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with the first qualifying races of the campaign and the draw conducted for the year’s first racing program this coming Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
 
Driver Jason Bartlett and trainer Sabrina Shaw combined to win the three fastest qualifiers of the day: with the pacers Friskie All Night in 1:55.2, Major Desire in 1:56.3, and Do Work Son in 1:57, all in near-freezing temperatures over a track rated “good +2.” Bartlett/Shaw and VHF Racing LLC, who owns all three winners, will be ones to watch for early in the meet at Pocono.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Preparations for the opening of the 2022 harness racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono are approaching top speed, with a draw this Friday (the 4th) at 11 a.m. for the first qualifying races of the year on Monday, February 7 at 10 a.m., ahead of the opening program of racing on Saturday, February 12, which will be drawn on Monday the 7th at 9 a.m.
 
During February, the track will operate on Saturday the 12th, Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th, and Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th. Upon switching to March, the track will race a Saturday-Sunday-Monday schedule starting Saturday, March 5. Post times at Pocono this year will be every racing day at 1:30 (an hour later than last year) except for Sundays, when cards will start at 5 p.m. (After the first qualifiers, Wednesday will be the track’s regular day for qualifying beginning February 16.)