By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Developing horses were featured in a quartet of $15,000 headlining contests on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
In the pace for males, A Major Attitude sprung a major upset, with the Captaintreacherous gelding brushing to the lead into the far turn then maintaining his advantage to the wire to take a new mark of 1:53 for owner/trainer Howard Birney while paying $48.80. The female pace saw Miss Majesty run her 2024 record to 6-5-1-0 with a victory in 1:54, last half :55.4, with the Always B Miki mare handled by Matt Kakaley, leading driver on the day with four successes, for trainer Nik Drennan and the partnership of Joseph Davino and Drennan Stable LLC.                  
 
The two trots were not separated by sex. The successful diamondgaiters were both driven by Tyler Buter and sired by Southwind Frank: the gelding Chase Mateo, who lowered his mark to 1:56.2 for trainer/owner Susanne Lopez, and the mare I Can’t Refuse, trained by Linda Schadel and co-owned by her with husband Tony Schadel, in 1:57.2.
 
The top five drivers at The Downs – Matt Kakaley, George Napolitano Jr., Anthony Napolitano, Tyler Buter, and Braxten Boyd – accounted for thirteen of the fifteen races among themselves, with each sulkysitter successful at least twice.
 
Racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday at 1 p.m., with two $17,000 trots and a pair of $16,500 paces heading the bill of fare. In April, every card will feature series action: Game Of Claims events for $10,000 base-tag pacers and $25,000 base-tag trotters, and/or action for all four divisions of three-year-olds in the Bobby Weiss Series. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Nob Hill High gelding Nob Hill Flash completed a sweep of his Game Of Claims series action for $15,000 base-tagged pacers Monday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, tacking on a 1:52 victory in his $20,000 Championship event after winning in each of his preliminaries.
 
Nob Hill Flash, the 50-cent favorite, moved from third from driver Anthony Napolitano nearing the :27.2 quarter, but Play Jet Ray pulled the pocket in front of him and went around early leader Aerosmith Hanover, with Nob Hill Flash refilling his own hole. Just past the :55.4 half, the “Flash” flashed out uncovered and battled with Play Ray Jet the rest of the way, past a 1:23.3 three-quarters and through the lane until finally gaining the advantage as he won by a neck.
 
Owner Karen Taylor and trainer Pierre Paradis, who took over the horse after his first prelim win, won the second with him but then lost him to another claim, wound up winning the crucial game of musical claiming chairs last week when reacquiring him, and saw the game pacer garner the lion’s share of the Championship purse. Despite being claimed every prelim week, Anthony Napolitano, top driver on the day with a quartet of triumphs, guided Nob Hill Flash in all four of his GOC wins.
 
The $7500 base-priced pacers went their $15,000 Championship race on Monday as well, and Hashtag Flash, who had won his two previous starts but had to overcome the outside post eight, made it look easy with a coast-to-coast win in 1:52.3, a new mark, while returning a big $81.40 mutuel. Fractions of :27.1, :56.2 and 1:23.4 proved no deterrent to the Alberta-bred Sunshine Beach gelding as he won by three lengths for driver Simon Allard. Unclaimed in his first two series legs, Hashtag Flash moved to the corner of trainer Ivan Llopez and Friendship Stables LLC after the last prelim, and for that duo the timing was perfect.
 
Pocono also saw its fastest trotting mile of the year on the mild Monday card, as the Kadabra mare P L Notsonice was ready in her second seasonal race to tally in 1:53.4. Matt Kakaley was behind the winner of $455,946 for trainer Steven Brabrook and Elite Harness Racing LLC.
 
Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card at The Downs will shine its spotlight on up-and-coming trotters and pacers, with a foursome of $15,000 contests the top purse events. Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Dontpokethedragon, who lost a ten-race win streak when he was third in the final preliminary of his Game Of Claims Series group last Saturday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, rebounded in a big way seven days later, overcoming a rough journey to take the $35,000 Championship of the GOC event for $25,000 base-tag pacers in 1:54.1 under adverse conditions. In winning, Dontpokethedragon regained the North American lead for most victories in 2024 with nine success stories before the first quarter of the year has been passed.
 
Dontpokethdragon, a gelded son of Custard The Dragon driven by George Napolitano Jr., was in the middle of the expected early scramble, tucking in fourth well before a :27.1 opener over a sloppy track and amidst temperatures dropping throughout the card from the first post mercury reading of 39 degrees. Napolitano had the favorite out and rolling going into the second turn, before the :55.4 half.
 
The “Dragon” roared up uncovered to challenge pacesetter Will The Wizard A, grabbing the lead near the 1:24.3 three-quarters. But a fresh challenger appeared in second-over Flashy Dude, and the race came down to these two, with Dontpokethedragon winning by a neck over that tough rival. Tam Major A, bothered in traffic after being shuffled, came flying late to be third and complete a 1-2-3 finish by the only three in the field of eight who had posted two victories in their three preliminaries.
 
Dontpokethedragon had changed hands after each of his prelims, and the ownership who wound up winning this series’ game of musical claiming chairs was P T Stable, with Lou Pena picking up the training duties. The sidewheeler’s sponsorship already has back $17,500 of its $30,000 investment of the previous week, and Dontpokethedragon, “just a claimer,” was at press time the fourth-richest pacer of the year in the U.S. and Canada, with a seasonal bankroll of $81,200. (There is no claiming in the GOC finales, so Dontpokethedragon will have the chance to recoup more of P T Stable’s investment in his next start.)
 
Marcus Miller won four of the first seven races on the card, enough of a fast start that he was leading driver of the day with this quartet of triumphs.
 
Monday’s 1 p.m. card at Pocono features two Championships, both paces, in the popular Game Of Claims sections: three-time prelim winners Nob Hill Flash and Ithaca Hanover are the top two choices in the $20,000 Championship for $15,000 base-tag horses, while Rock King Deo, the only triple winner in the prelims for $7500-priced horses, opens as the early chalk in his $15,000 Championship. Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.

By: J erry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – A quartet of $15,000 races for developing stock headed the Tuesday afternoon program at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, where despite it being the first day of spring temperatures stayed very close to 40 degrees.
 
On the pacing side, the Well Said gelding Tennessee Smooth marked himself as a horse to keep an eye on, setting the pace then withstanding the uncovered move of odds-on favorite Hunters Hero by a half-length in 1:54.3. Braxten Boyd drove the winner of two straight for trainer Brandy Wine and the partnership of Brett Boyd Racing Inc. and Geoffrey Howles.
 
The equivalent pace for distaffs saw the Always B Miki mare Miss Majesty kept on the rim for three-eighths of a mile before making the top, yet still having plenty in reserve to stop the timer in 1:55 while taking her seasonal record to 5-4-1-0. Matt Kakaley had the steer behind the Nik Drennan trainee for James Davino and Drennan Stable LLC.
 
Two trotting sections were won by Kobe B, a Father Patrick gelding who won by a half-length over Lous Lancelot in 1:57.4 while using engine tactics for driver Jim Pantaleano (tops on the day with three victories), trainer Jill Roland, and owner Jose Cervantes; and  Fashion Ken, a son of Donato Hanover who won by the slimmest possible margin over Bright Expectation in 1:58 for driver Simon Allard, trainer Pierre Bovay, and owner Nicole Bovay Gurtner.
 
When racing resumes at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Pocono, the feature will be the first Championship in the Game Of Claims Series events, with a $35,000 purse for horses who started the action with a base tag of $25,000. Six of the eight horses will be changing barns since their last preliminary start, including morning line favorite Tam Major A, who had two wins and a second during prelim action that yielded no winner of three straight. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Nob Hill Flash and Ithaca Hanover swept their three preliminaries in the Game Of Claims Series, winning Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania while carrying tags of $20,000 and racing for $10,000 purses. In another section of the multi-pronged GOC, Rock King Deo also made it three-for-three with a win in a $7500 event for horses valued at $11,000. Both of these Game Of Claims series matchups were for pacing horses.
 
Nob Hill Flash, a Nob Hill High gelding, had won by only a nose in his first two prelims, but on Monday he dusted his opposition by eleven lengths for driver Anthony Napolitano in a lifetime best of 1:52.2 on a chilly day. He also was claimed just before his $20,000 Championship next Monday, the only winner in the six divisions at this level to be haltered; Ithaca Hanover went right back to familiar surroundings after winning his third straight in 1:55.1 while being handled by Jason Bartlett.
 
Other than the above pair, no horse at this level won more than one preliminary. Included among that quartet was Finally Friday (Tyler Buter, 1:55.2), who returned $86.00 to win, biggest price of the young Pocono season; first-time series starter Global Crush (Anthony Napolitano, 1:54); Waimac Attack N (Matt Kakaley, 1:55); and Aerosmith Hanover (George Napolitano Jr., 1:54.1).
 
Rock King Deo was in the first of six divisions of the lower-tagged last prelim, and he tacked on his third consecutive success in 1:54.3 for George Napolitano Jr.; he will be going in his $15,000 Championship next Monday for new connections.
 
Three other Monday winners posted their second consecutive victory in other splits, including McNulty Z Tam (Anthony Napolitano, 1:55.2); among his victims was Charlie’s Dragon, the only winner in his first two prelims who couldn’t add a third on the card. Also doubling up were a pair of horses who went to new surroundings after their wins: Gemini Express, who took a new mark of 1:54 while benefiting from Tyler Buter’s guidance, and Hashtag Money, home in 1:55.4 for driver Simon Allard. Rounding out this level’s winners were Ranaldi (George Napolitano Jr., 1:55) and Twentysevenbelow (Braxten Boyd, 1:55.1).
 
“George Nap” led all drivers on the day with four wins; his brother Anthony and Tyler Buter each clicked three times. The only trainer to double was Dean Eckley, who handled a winner in each grouping of the GOC.
 
The overnight horses will be coming out 15 races strong as Pocono ends its racing week Tuesday at 1 p.m.; younger horses will be spotlighted in four $15,000 contests. Free Pocono program pages can be found at www.phha.org. 

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – It was a sunny day on Saturday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with seasonably mild temperatures – so nice a day, in fact, that conventional handicapping form played hooky during the afternoon program, which featured five $17,500 divisions of the final preliminary in the Game Of Claims Series for horses carrying base tags of $30,000. Consider:
 
--A horse going for his eleventh straight victory didn’t even hit the board, while another double winner in the series to date also failed to deliver a third win. Conversely, two of the day’s GOC winners have virtually no chance to get into next Saturday’s $35,000 final;
 
--Only four favorites on the 14-race card ended their day with a visit to the winners circle;
 
--The fastest mile of the year at Pocono, 1:51.1, was put up Rockin On Venus. Fast clockings and nice weather usually augurs a good day for frontstepping horses – yet no horse led at every call in any Pocono race. In fact, nine of the winners spent a good portion of their last laps uncovered, while the other five had cushy rail trips: four pockets and a third-in. Of eight horses who led at both the quarter and the half, seven of them were 4-1 or less, but none won.
 
Dontpokethedragon, who came in off ten straight victories in a skein spanning two countries and two years, couldn’t overcome the outermost post and had to settle for fourth as Islandspecialmajor, a son of Art Major, came on the grind yet still won in 1:51.2 for Matt Kakaley. Dontpokethedragon was claimed yet again; Islandspecialmajor was not, but he is extremely unlikely to be in the rich Championship because he skipped the first week and probably didn’t accumulate enough points – you needed three starts that included at least one win and one place finish to make the theoretical point cutoff.
 
The other winner in the first two series prelims, Flashy Dude (also changing barns), had to settle for second behind Peppermint Man (1:53.3) and driver George Napolitano Jr. who had three of his four Saturday victories in the Game Of Claims. George also drove the only GOC winner of the day to be claimed, Tam Major A, who rang up two wins and a second in his prelim action including a 1:52.3 tally here, and he also handled Epic Ace, successful in 1:52.2.
 
The other winner, Deal The Cards, equaled his mark of 1:52.4 in winning for the first time since January 14 of last year (426 days ago), and was part of a collaborative triple between driver Jason Bartlett and trainer Per Engblom. Deal The Cards, however, also was absent for the first prelim and shouldn’t make the final.    
 
At least the participants in claiming activity showed their top ability: all six horses taken during the card are among the eight highest prelim pointwinners.
 
Formplayers will be looking for a return to normalcy by Monday afternoon at Pocono, when a 1 p.m. card will be topped by a pair of six final-round prelims of the Game Of Claims, for horses carrying a tag of $20,000 ($10,000 purse) and $11,000 ($7500 purse). Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Horses on the way up the class ladder were featured in $15,000 contests on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, under conditions that hinted of a pleasant upcoming spring.
 
No Words, a son of Tellitlikeitis, suffered interference when pacesetting favorite El Yerno made a break coming into the stretch in the event for pacing males, but he quickly righted and stormed home five-wide from seventh to be victorious in 1:52.3 for driver Patrick Ryder. The Michael Calderone trainee has now won three of his last four starts for lessee Exceedequine.com.
 
On the distaff sidewheeling side, the Stay Hungry sophomore filly Stay Classy came a long way uncovered, then held off the horse on her back, Cannery Row, by a neck while equaling her lifetime best of 1:55.2 for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Jeff Cullipher, and Pollock Racing LLC.
 
The developing trotter section saw Irish Coffee team with the meet’s leading driver, Matt Kakaley (a four-time winner during all three local cards this week), for an easy win in 1:56.4. Jennifer Bongiorno conditions the altered son of Father Patrick for her Jennifer Bongiorno Stable LLC.
 
Racing resumes at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Pocono, with the final preliminaries for the Game Of Claims Series for top-priced horses yielding this question: “Who is going to wind up with Dontpokethedragon after the race?” The $30,000 claiming tag may not daunt anyone, given that the pacer has won eight times this year, including twice easily in his preliminaries, and will be going for his eleventh straight win ahead of March 23’s $35,000 series Championship. In all, there will be five cuts of this GOC going for $17,500, with good money ahead for anyone with a sharp horse who can win the game of claiming musical chairs ownership Saturday. Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Drivers Anthony Napolitano and Matt Kakaley, the two-time defending dashwinning champion at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, continued to show a winning touch in the second preliminary round of Monday afternoon’s all-Game Of Claims card. Both drivers got home first four times on the pacing-only program, two times each in both the seven $10,000 contests with a $17,500 base tag and the $7500 events for horses valued today at $9000, also with seven sections.
 
Three horses became winners in consecutive weeks in the higher-priced action, with the Nob Hill High gelding Nob Hill Flash overcoming a brutal trip to win for “Anthony Nap” in 1:54.1 as the only doubler in this division who was taken from the claiming box Monday. Also successful for the second straight start were the Sweet Lou gelding Ithaca Hanover, who surmounted post eight for Kakaley in 1:55, and Johnny Chip (Jim Pantaleano, 1:54.4), who followed up on a $40.20 win last week with a $22.00 upset.
 
The Early Double provided the fastest miles on the raw, wind-whipped day, courtesy of Play Jet Ray (Kakaley) in 1:53.3 and Saulsbrook Raptor (A. Napolitano) in 1:53.4, both of whom changed hands for the second straight start. Also successful at this level were Fox Valley Ren, (Braxten Boyd, 1:55), who went to a new stable, and Never Say Never N (Ridge Warren, and the second win in this company on Monday for trainer Darren Taneyhill), who was home first in 1:55.2 then went right back to his own stall.
 
Besides Taneyhill, trainer Jacob Fox sent out a pair of winners on the Monday program, both in the other Game Of Claims Series with the only pacers to double up in their GOC:  the Rock N Roll Hanover gelding Rock King Don (Kakaley, 1:56.3 as the only winner at this level who was claimed) and the Charms Shark gelding Charlie’s Dragon (Ridge Warren, 1:58.1). Kakaley’s other victory in this group came with Blueberry Heaven in 1:56.3; Anthony Napolitano’s two success stories in this company were McNulty Z Tam (1:57) and Gemini Express (1:55.4).
 
Fastest of all in his group was Hashtag Money, who stopped the clock in 1:55.3 for Simon Allard. The other winner was Onlythetuffsurvive, aptly-named while coming home first in 1:57.2 for George Napolitano Jr.
 
In all, 18 horses were claimed Monday, with $212,000 changing hands. In four days of Game Of Claims action, there have been 72 purchases totaling $1,255,125, and with owners this coming week getting their last chance to take a sharp horse in anticipation of these levels’ GOC Championships (cumulatively worth $70,000) on March 23-25, the claiming box may be sought out with even greater anticipation.
 
All the popular GOC racing meant that Pocono scheduled a 15-race card for Tuesday at 1 p.m. to give the overnight horses a bit of a better chance to race; three $15,000 races for developing stock will be featured. Pocono program are available for free at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The second preliminary round of the Game Of Claims series for the highest-priced selling horses at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania highlighted the Saturday afternoon sloppy-track action at the northeast Pennsylvania oval. Matt Kakaley took two $17,500 divisions with winners from last week, and Anthony Napolitano guided the other four $27,500-base-priced success stories (the purchasing ante goes up slightly each prelim week in the Game Of Claims).
 
“Success story” is just the right term to use in talking about the Custard The Dragon gelding Dontpokethedragon, as he became the first harness horse in North America to get to eight wins in 2024 while winning his tenth straight race, this time from off of cover, in 1:53 for Kakaley. Also staying unbeaten in two GOC outings was Flashy Dude, who was moved outside on the far turn and paced to the fore in 1:53.4. Both the double winners were haltered out of their races; in all on the day, there were ten horses purchased via the claiming box for $281,875. (The game of claiming musical chairs figures to intensify next Saturday for the final prelim, as horsemen with itchy checkbooks will have an improved sense of who is likely to make this group’s rich Championship.)
 
Anthony Napolitano’s four winners in the series included two horses who were not moving to new surroundings after their races: the aptly-named The Best Tyme Ever, who set a new lifetime best of 1:52.2, and Chief’s Beach, who won in identical time to share series speed honors for the day. “ANap”’s two other visits to Victory Lane were with horses who moved into new accommodations: Will The Wizard A (1:52.3) and Always A Look (1:53.1).
 
In overnight racing, two $17,000 divisions of a trotting class for developing horses were taken by pupils of Michael Burke, North America’s winningest trainer, while campaigning for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC: the Resolve mare Enola in 1:58, a new speed badge, for driver Simon Allard , and the Justice Hall gelding Stormont Drive in 1:55.3 for driver Kakaley, who matched Anthony Napolitano with four triumphs overall on the day.
 
There were also a pair of $16,500 fast-class events. On the trot, the veteran Explosive Matter gelding Rich And Miserable recorded the fastest diamondgaited mile of the meet with a 1:54 victory for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Todd Buter, and owners Buter Farms Inc. and Lynette Buter. Fronting the pacers was the Captaintreacherous gelding Jilliby Dynamite A, guided home first in 1:52.2 by Bradley Chisholm for trainer Nifty Norman and the partnership of Tom Vassiliou, Cool Cat Racing Inc., Nicholas Tallarico, and Archie Mc Neil.
 
For the second straight Monday, there will be no overnight races at Pocono, as during the 1 p.m. 14-race card there will be seven $10,000 divisions of a GOC pace for horses base-tagged at $17,500, and a like number of $7500 contests for pacers carrying a base-price of $9000. (Tuesday’s card has been expanded to fifteen races to give the overnight horses a chance to race during the popular Game Of Claims action.) Pocono programs are available free at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Three $15,000 races for developing horses were the featured events over a sloppy track during the first Tuesday afternoon card of the year at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
The Googoo Gaagaa gelding Bur Bun, who had done well near the end of the Philly meet last year but then tailed off in two 2024 starts in Maryland, enjoyed his return to the Keystone State, taking a new mark of 1:55.3 despite the off going in the headlining trot. Braxten Boyd (four wins on the day) sent Bur Bun right down the road from the rail and was never headed, withstanding pocketsitter I Cant Refuse by 1½ lengths for owner/trainer Howard Birney.
 
Tennessee Smooth bided his time in third until the three-quarters, then charged up and took the advantage in the latter stages of the top pace for males, lowering his mark to 1:53.2, with fractionsetter El Yerno a half-length behind the winner and a nose ahead of pocketsitter Dark As Night. The oft-winning (14 for 32 lifetime) Well Said gelding Tennessee Smooth was driven by Braxten Boyd for trainer Brandy Wine and the ownership of Brett Boyd Racing Inc. and Geoffrey Howles.
 
Lady Chrislyn, a daughter of Big Jim who had been closing well against the best distaffs at Monticello, needed every inch of the Pocono stretch to win the top event for distaff pacers in a lifetime mark of 1:56 for trainer Robert Lounsbury and owner David Del Pezzo. Tyler Buter (who also guided a quartet of winners) set the mare up with a second-over trip as pacesetter Exciting Times A and first-over Racing For Royalty engaged in a protracted duel, then just got her nose to the wire first over her game opposition, with the leader withstanding the first-up by the same margin for second.
 
Racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.; there will be six $17,500 divisions of the second leg of a Game Of Claims series, with the base tag elevated slightly to $27,500 this week for these hard-hitters. All six winners in the first leg are back in for more GOC action Saturday (this year the rules say a horse must start in all legs of the GOC to make the final) – three will meet in race nine, two face off in race twelve, and the other will be in the card’s curtainriaser. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.