By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Perennial local driving leader George Napolitano Jr. accounted for half of the twelve races on the Monday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, including keeping of a pair of impressive pacing distaffs undefeated in Weiss Series competition after their $15,000 second round preliminaries.

Ghosttothepost had a bit of an adventurous journey in her section, but the American Ideal came through with flying colors, taking a new mark of 1:53. George Napolitano chose to keep his charge in third as brother Anthony rushed up with McCoolen before the half, then was able to slip out behind that one as Cardiff, another first-round Weiss winner, posted fractions of 28, 57.1, and 1:24.4. The stretch battle boiled down to the 1-1 Cardiff and the 4-5 Ghosttothepost, with the latter swinging wide off her cover and having the most late to win by 1¾ lengths. Darren Ferrell conditions the fast mare for owner Peter Paul Venturini.​

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The male trotters got their first crack at Weiss Series action Sunday evening at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with three $15,000 first round preliminaries seeing the fastest winner emerge as the Conway Hall gelding Hammer Creek, who nipped the heavy favorite Dover Dony in a personal best 1:55.1. 
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Dover Dony had quarter-moved after a 27.2 opener and went on to post nice midsplits of 56.2 and 1:25.1. Pocono's “Trot Man,” driver Mike Simons, bided his time with Hammer Creek, then moved out just before the ¾ and aimed right at the leader. Dover Dony had gamely and still was ahead in deep stretch, but his foe was relentless in pursuit and got the decision by the shortest possible margin. Kenneth Hess Jr. trains the winner, who dropped three seconds off his mark, for owner Richard Ciesielski.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Three $15,000 divisions of the first preliminary of the Bobby Weiss Series for pacing males highlighted the card on Saturday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with Jim Morrill Jr. guiding two of the winners to 1:52.3 victories.
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First on the track was the Sweet Lou sophomore gelding Division Bell, who broke his maiden for trainer Ron Burke and Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. Morrill sent Division Bell to the lead in front of the stands, then kept the youngster rolling home in 56.1 to be 1¼ lengths ahead of R U Talkin at the finish while also setting a new mark.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – A pair of $16,000 contests for developing younger horses, one on each gait, were the headliners at Harrah’s Philadelphia on a dank Friday afternoon.

In the pacing co-feature, which was for mares, War Crimes came home in 55.3, moving from third off the second turn to the lead at the 5/8 and running off to a 4 ½ length victory in 1:53.1. Josh Green conditions the winner of three straight and 7 of 12 starts lifetime for Green Racing Inc. And speaking of “running off,” that’s exactly what driver Tim Tetrick did after his fourth visit to Harrah’s winners circle on the program, going on the dead run in an effort to meet transportation to reach his scheduled commitment in the first race at Yonkers tonight.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The great rate of early-speed success in the opening days of the 2019 Harrah’s Philadelphia season continued in the $14,500 featured trot on Thursday, as the Lionhunter mare Black Mamba AS mad every pole a winning one in a 1:54 mile.

The winner of $241,060, the 9-5 second choice worked to the front in a 27.1 opener, then got a breather to the half in 57.1. 6-5 favorite Zlatan had to take up uncovered duties and commenced to grind raw against the pacesetter, who reached the 3/4s in 1:24.3. Down the lane the pesky Zlatan would not go away, but Black Mamba AS had enough to hold off that foe by a length for trainer Anette Lorentzon and ACL Stuteri AB.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Driver Matt Kakaley and trainer Ron Burke combined to take two of the four $15,000 first preliminaries in the Bobby Weiss Series for trotting distaffs during the Tuesday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

The Cantab Hall filly Fade Into You made her 2019 debut a successful one, moving to the lead going past the grandstand the first time and continuing on to a three length victory in 1:57.3. A Pennsylvania Sire Stake winner at two, Fade Into You is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC , Phil Collura, and J&TSilva – Purnel & Libby.
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A race previous, Kakaley/Burke unveiled another nice sophomore making her 2019 bow, Run Lindy Run, who prevailed by two lengths in 1:56.4, which equaled the North American season’s record for the division. Another daughter of Cantab Hall, Run Lindy Run also grabbed command early and continued nicely to the wire for Burke Racing Stable LLC.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Donttellmeagain, the last horse to have won a race against 2018 Harness Horse of the Year McWicked (at Dayton in late September), came out sharp in his 2019 bow at Harrah’s Philadelphia in a Tuesday morning qualifier, coming his own back half in 53.4 to trip the timer in 1:52.2.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Bobby Weiss Series, a traditional launching pad for young talent named after the man who developed the racetrack at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono into one of the most popular surfaces in the world, opened its 2019 campaign during the Monday twilight card, with all three winners of their $15,000 first preliminaries posting lifetime bests.

Fastest was the Sportswriter mare Cardiff, who raced very big with the introduction of Lasix and stopped the timer in 1:53. Simon Allard got early position in the 26.3 opener, then brushed to the lead well before the 55.3 half. Cardiff kept right on rolling, passing the ¾ in 1:24.2 and then widening her lead to 3¾ lengths over Sewonandsewforth for trainer Rene Allard and the partnership of Allard Racing Inc. and Carmen Carson.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The $700,000 Bobby Weiss Series, the traditional early-season contests at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono that often bring a focus to developing stars, begins its annual competition on Monday and Tuesday with fillies and mares – pacers in three divisions on Monday, and trotters in four sections the next day.
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George Napolitano Jr., who has been burning up the racetrack both at Pocono and 100 miles south at the newly-opened meet at Harrah’s Philly, is set to guide the morning line favorite in the first two cuts on Monday’s twilight card. In race seven, he’ll be handling Ashlee Sparkles for trainer Blake MacIntosh as that sophomore filly makes her seasonal bow off a very sharp 1:55.3 qualifier here. In the ninth, “GNap” has been tapped by trainer Randy Bendis to steer Sewonandsewforth, who missed by a head at 27-1 in her first contest as a three-year-old last week.