By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – It’s hard to tell what the bettors didn’t like about the Andover Hall mare Casa Palmera in the $18,000 featured trot at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon. She had won two in a row after dropping her first two starts of the year, a not-atypical pattern for patient trainer Ed Lohmeyer (do you remember back to Landslide?). She had driver George Napolitano Jr., well-acquainted with the Philly winners circle.

Maybe they foresaw her first-over trip. Nonetheless, the morning line favorite went off as the fifth choice in the feature, grinded right up to the tough pacesetting veteran Tyson, wore him down on the far turn, then went on gamely to finish a length to the good of late-charging Thisguyisonfire in 1:54.3. And Casa Palmera paid $14.00 to win for backers of the improving mare owned by Lohmeyer and Dr. Patty Hogan, for whom she has now won $118,445.
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In the first of two $14,500 co-featured trots, Seven Iron worked to the early lead and retained the advantage throughout, keeping Prince Of Minto at bay by ¾ of a length while equaling his lifetime best of 1:54.2. Corey Callahan drove the victorious son of Chapter Seven, who raised his lifetime earnings to $254,945, for his trainer Chris Lakata and his owner, former basketball star Sam Bowie.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Great Northeast Open Series (GNOS) again has its weekly quota of three $30,000 races for fast-class horses filled for Sunday – the open pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia in the afternoon, and the open mares pace and open trot at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in the evening.
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In the open pace, there are few better pacers right now than None Bettor A, who makes his GNOS debut from post two in the seven-horse gathering for the sister/brother team of trainer Jen and driver Joe Bongiorno. The Bettor’s Delight gelding has been racing in this country for less than two months – he opened his North American account with two thirds at Yonkers, then went over the George Washington Bridge to The Meadowlands and has ripped off our straight wins, the latest in 1:48.4.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The southeastern side won a Philadelphia version of the Battle of the Tasman Sea in the $14,500 featured pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon, as Decoy, driven by New Zealander Dexter Dunn, spoiled the North American debut of favored Senor Macray A while posting a 1:51 clocking.
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Caviart Skyler took the early lead, with Decoy in second, the latter moving frontward near the :26.4 quarter. The victorious son of Sombeachsomewhere got a breather to a half in :55.4, then came home strongly in :55.1 to withstand second-over Imstaynalive by ¾ of a length, with first-over Machiatto A holding third over his countrymate “Senor.” Gary Candell trains the winner of $144,738, a winner of two in a row after competing in the Graduate Series earlier this year, for owners Brixton Medical Inc., R A W Equine Inc., and Joe Sbrocco. For driver Dunn, the feature win was the second in a consecutive quadruple; leading driver Tim Tetrick would also come home first four times.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – If you’re The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, and on Saturday night you have the world’s fastest two-year-old, the filly Warrawee Ubeaut (1:48.3), among the entrants in four $30,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars race for three-year-olds – what can you do for an encore on Sunday?

Here’s the answer – you turn to the Hambletonian-class types, the three-year-old colt trotters, stage three $56,868 divisions of the second preliminary leg of their Pennsylvania Sire Stake, add five more $20,000 divisions of the group’s Stallion Series action, then also card two $30,000 races in the Great Northeast Open Series, one for mare pacers and one for trotters. That’s what you do.
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The three Sire Stakes races are slotted in races three, five, and eleven, each having seven entrants, and each section has a winner from the first preliminary round, held at The Meadows on May 11. In race three Ginger Tree Skyr is the PaSS winner already, having posted a 1:55 upset at 26-1. Dan Rawlings will come east to drive the Explosive Matter colt for trainer Steven Cook as they begin from post two. Also highly-regarded in this division is Gerry (post six, driver Brian Sears), who broke at The Meadows in his seasonal bow but who won in 1:54.3 last year, and Marseille (post four, driver Åke Svanstedt), a maiden but who comes in for his 2019 debut off a good second in a qualifier.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The A Rocknroll Dance four-year-old mare Reclamation, who started her racing career in Great Britain and broke her maiden in a race for a purse of U.S. $706, posted her fifth straight victory in the $17,500 distaff pacing feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on the Tuesday twilight card, showing large reserves of fortitude to down an ultra-game Juslikeaqueen by a nose in a career best of 1:50.
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Culinary Delight N forced Keystone Riptide in behind her going to the :26.2 quarter; Juslikeaqueen attempted a quarter move from third, but the pacesetter gave her the cold shoulder through hot middle fractions of :54.1 and 1:21.3. Reclamation had tucked fourth and then followed Juslikeaqueen outside, so she was getting a good cover trip.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Harness racing’s fastest two-year-old ever, the filly Warrawee Ubeaut (1:48.2 at Lexington last year) makes her second start of 2019 in one of four $30,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for three-year-old pacing fillies Saturday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Warrawee Ubeaut, a daughter of Sweet Lou trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Phil Collura, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby, was voted champion of her category last year after notching seven wins in twelve starts and earnings of $646,995, the most of any two-year-old campaigning in North America in 2018.
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So far Warrawee Ubeaut has only started once, winning a May 3 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes leg at Harrah’s Philly in 1:51.2, so she will come into Saturday’s race without a start in 29 days. Her regular pilot, Yannick Gingras, is over in Sweden competing in the World Driving Championship, so Matt Kakaley will get the driving assignment as Warrawee Ubeaut starts from the rail in the seven-horse eleventh race field.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Driver Simon Allard had the hot hands at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on the Memorial Day twilight card, visiting the winners circle five times. Allard is now only two wins behind Anthony Napolitano, 70-68, for second place among local winning drivers, with Anthony’s brother George in his usual spot at the top of the ladder with 97 local successes.

Two of Simon’s victories came for his brother, trainer Rene Allard, who now has a 49-25 lead over Gilbert Garcia-Herrera in the conditioners’ win standings.
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Although eight favorites were successful on the 14 race card, the average win payout was a healthy $14.79 – helped greatly by the $84.60 victory of Celebrity Bianca for driver Haralabos Giannoulis and trainer Sam Stathis. 

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Sons of Captaintreacherous won five of the six $20,000 third round preliminaries of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for three-year-old pacing colts Monday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, but it was the Somebeachsomewhere gelding Prince Of Tides who posted the fastest time, 1:50, which also rewrote the North American season’s record for his division. 

Eric Carlson, who tasted sulky success four times on the matinee card, moved the winner to the lead in front of the stands, and the sophomore came home powerfully, last half in :54.1 despite bearing out in the stretch to be 6¼ lengths clear of favored Skip To My Lou, the only StS horses to win in both the preliminary legs before today. Prince Of Tides, who dropped down from the Sire Stakes to post the impressive triumph, is trained by Ross Croghan for Let It Ride Stables, Mr. Dana Parham, and Howard Taylor.
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Carlson had another Stallion Series winner, this one part of a StS training triple for Tony Alagna, Odds On Boca Raton, who is now perfect in two Stallion Series starts after a 1:52.1 victory. Odds On Boca Raton went right to the top and discouraged all other challengers, finishing a length to the good of Stienams Beach for Odds On Racing.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – In wet weather and over a worsening surface Sunday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Millies Possesion remained undefeated in her career and after three Pennsylvania Sire Stakes preliminaries for three-year-old trotting fillies, triumphing in one of three $55,168 PaSS divisions, while the four $20,000 Stallion Series sections were divided equally between drivers George Napolitano Jr. (who also won a Sire Stakes) and Tyler Buter.

Millies Possesion showed a great deal of fortitude in her 1:56.3 tally. She tucked fourth before the :29 quarter, then looked to make a quarter move for driver Dexter Dunn but was beaten to the punch by Firedbylindie, who moved from third to take the field to the half in :59.2. Dunn had the winning daughter of Possess The Will going again uncovered by the 5/8 and up to challenge by the 1:28.2 three-quarters, with $480,000 yearling, seasonal debutante, and race favorite Beautiful Sin on her back. 
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Through the stretch Millies Possesion showed her talent, closing into a :28.1 last quarter in the muck to win by 1¼ lengths over Beautiful Sin, who was moving very well late; she in turn was a length ahead of Firedbylindie. Now perfect after four career starts, all this year, Millies Possesion is trained by Jim Campbell and pushed her bankroll to $76,184 for Fashion Farms LLC.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – On a night not kind to favorites most of the way, 7-1 shot Hitman Hill caught 6-5 favorite Rockin Ron in the final strides for a neck win in 1:50.1 in the $21,500 featured pace Saturday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
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Hitman Hill did some of the work to undo the favorite, forcing him to remain two-wide for 3/16 before clearing to the lead before a brutal :25.3 opener. Rockin Ron got a breather against the wind to a :55.2 half, but at that point Lyons Steel was streaking up uncovered, forcing Rockin Ron to reengage top gear, with Hitman Hill first loose in the pocket then tightening up late in the backstretch.