By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The residue of the wicked winter weather Saturday in northeast Pennsylvania has forced The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono to also cancel its card for Sunday (March 13).
 
That card was to have featured the second preliminary leg of the Game Of Claims Trotting Series for $15,000 base-price horses; the entire rest of the series will now be pushed back one week.
 
Horses who were scheduled to race on both Saturday and Sunday are required to reenter for the cards that are scheduled for this coming weekend at Pocono – the card of Saturday, March 19 (declare in by this Monday at 9 a.m.) and Sunday, March 20 (declare in by this Tuesday at 9 a.m.). This requirement includes all horses who had been entered for any Game Of Claims action.
 
The track crew, horsemen, and Pocono will be working the rest of Sunday into Monday to try to have the track safe for the scheduled card of Monday, March 14, which has a 1:30 p.m. post time, and features the second prelim of the Game of Claims Pacing Series for horses with base prices of $10,000 and $7500.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Because of a major winter storm set to pass through northeast Pennsylvania, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono is cancelling the racing program scheduled for Saturday (March 12).
 
The Game Of Claims Pacing Series for base-tag horses at the $25,000 and $15,000 levels have now had preliminary legs postponed twice, following the delay of the second leg which was to have been contested on February 26. This now means (barring any additional weather problems) that all five section in the Game Of Claims program will have their third and final preliminary legs the weekend of March 19-21, and all five will have their Championships on the weekend of March 26-28.
 
The Pocono track crew, horsemen, and management will be working hard to have the track ready to go for the next scheduled day of racing at the mountain oval, this coming Sunday at 5 p.m., which is set to feature four divisions of the second prelim of the Game Of Claims action for $15,000 base-priced trotters.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Pacers not normally featured at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono took a turn in the spotlight on the Monday afternoon card, as horses with base claiming tags of $10,000 and $7500 competed in their respective first preliminaries of the Game Of Claims Series.
 
In the races for higher-priced horses, which each went for $10,000, perennial Pocono leading driver George Napolitano Jr. guided home three of the four winners (and three of his four winners on the card), including the fastest GOC winner, Toddler Tantrum, who held off tough foe Whata Treasure in 1:54 over a sloppy track. That Napolitano winner, along with Polak A (1:56.2 when the track was still fast) and Skyway Fireball (1:54.4 sy), all will be changing hands for their next race; the one divisional winner who was not taken was Queen Kendall, coming over from Freehold and posting a $135.60 shocker for driver Jim Pantaleano while covering the off going in 1:55.4.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – Trotters were in the spotlight during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, including two $12,500 divisions of the first prelim round of Game Of Claims  Series for $15,000 base-price horses.
 
Both Game Of Claims Series produced mild upsets as odds-on favorites faltered. The faster section went to the Break The Bank K gelding Sundancediamond, who left from the outermost post and never looked back in 1:57. Team Pantaleano – driver Jim and trainer Christen – had the winner ready in his seasonal debut and won comfortably; the bad news for the new connections here is that the winner was claimed.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – The second preliminary round of the Game Of Claims Series for higher-priced horses, snowed out last week, took to the track on Saturday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with six divisions each of horses with a base tag of $27,500 and $17,500 respectively raising more questions that providing answers.
 
One source of continuity was the Somebeachsomewhere gelding Bobby K Hill, who was the only two-time winner in the initial prelims of the higher-price series (each section going for a $20,000 purse). He held off Blow A Cloud N by a neck for driver Jim Pantaleano in 1:54 – and was claimed for the second straight start. New owner Melvin Fink now has to weigh losing race sharpness if keeping the horse out next week – or possibly losing the horse if entering him in the third and final prelim.