By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Seven horses who won their first start in a qualifying race at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania last Tuesday morning were back in action this Tuesday during thirteen events of baby action. None of the winners drew against each other.
 
There were six male winners coming back, but none of them could repeat. The only two-time winner emerging was the Greenshoe – Tricky Sister trotting miss Shoestrings, who reduced her clocking from 2:04 first time out to 2:01.4 - :59.3 - :29.1 for driver-trainer-owner D. R. Ackerman. She was also the only non-debutant/debutante to win Tuesday except for the pacing colt division – more on those in a minute.
 
The other baby trotting filly winner went faster: Modesty Blaise (Chapter Seven – Diffident), who won in 2:01.1 - :58.4 by a nose over Dubraska Hanover for driver-trainer Åke Svanstedt and owner S R F Stable.
 
Svanstedt also won the two divisions for freshman trotting males which were clocked in 1:59.3, fastest of the day in that grouping. One was another winner sired by Chapter Seven, the colt Read The Room (dam Debra Hall), finishing in :59 - :29.2 on the engine for Åke Svanstedt Inc., Little E LLC, B Nasstrom Holding Inc., and Nils Munkhaugen. The other was the Wishing Stone – I D Entity NO colt Magic Punk, who surmounted a first-over journey with back fractions of :58 - :28.4 for owner Rune Hansen.
 
Three of the six freshmen winning last week and returning Tuesday came from the trotting colt ranks, and three from the pacing colts. As noted, none repeated – but, interestingly, the four pacing colt sectors were all won by horses who did not win their first starts, but were the best on this Tuesday. Two of them were driven by Jason Bartlett; two of them were driven by trainer Todd Schadel.
 
Fastest baby seen yet at Pocono is the Huntsville – The Show Returns colt Fragment, who got to the lead past the quarter, set the pace, then finished out in :56 - :27.1 to freeze the clock at 1:54.4  for trainer Per Engblom and the partnership of Douglas Sipple and Engblom Stable LLC; Bartlett also had the ride behind another son of Huntsville, the gelding Hunt Off The Press, who won for trainer Jared Bako in 1:55.1 - :56.1 - :28.
 
The two winners in this group for Todd Schadel were the Tall Dark Stranger – Viva La Deo gelding Venom Hanover in 1:56.1 - :57.3, and the Always B Miki – Luvthebeachlife gelding Beach Legacy in 1:58.1 - :58.4.
 
Pocono’s leading driver Tyler Buter guided two winners in the pacing filly ranks including the fastest in the section, the Papi Rob Hanover – One Last Kiss miss Say Goodnight, who put in her own back fractions of :57.4 - :28.2 in a 1:58.4 win for trainer Nicholas Devita and owners David Hamm and Glenn Phillips. (Buter’s other pacing filly winner was the American Ideal – Azreal As It Gets baby Ideal Beauty Queen in 2:00.1 - :58.1 - :28.2.)
 
Also recording a sub-2:00 in this group was the Deborah Daguet-trained Two Twenty Swift (Huntsville – Jag Out), quarter-moved by driver Jason Bartlett and triumphant in 1:59.1 - :57.2 - :28.2.
 
The Pocono baby races and qualifiers can be seen at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The claiming box was the hot spot Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with the first three finishers in the $16,000 claiming handicap trotting feature changing barns, and the division reserved for claimers of the two $15,000 co-feature trots seeing three horses also going to “new” homes, including the first two finishers.
 
The action on the racetrack is easier to follow than the paperwork trail: the Credit Winner gelding Quiksilvr Blue Chip spotted third in a field of five as Macmorris Hanover went to the lead and Chamba followed along in the pocket through fractions of :27.1, :56.4, and 1:24.4, with Quiksilvr Bluechip starting his uncovered move before the last-named station. "Quiksilvr"  sailed right by in the stretch for his fourth straight victory, this one tying his lifetime mark of 1:53.1, with Chamba following him in the lane to get second around Macmorris Hanover.
 
The first three horses – 60% of the field -- were claimed, and the winner’s recent movements are especially interesting: in the last three weeks he has been claimed from Carmen Iannacone (Hunter Oakes is his trainer) by Rocco Stebbins (who uses Brandon Presto as trainer); by Iannacone (Oakes) from Stebbins before Tuesday’s win; and out of Tuesday’s race by Stebbins from Iannacone. Tyler Buter has been aboard for all four wins in Quiksilvr’s current streak, which began with a conditioned win, and why not – Buter won five more races on the Tuesday card to widen his lead at the top of the Pocono standings.
 
The $15,000 claiming co-feature just about mirrored the feature except that the 1-2-5 finishers were claimed – and believe it or not, those horses are even more used to seeing a different stall or field from week to week. The American Eagle, a son of Trixton who used the Pocono Pike for a 1:55.1 victory for driver Simon Allard and trainer-owner Josue Garcia, was claimed for the sixth straight time, and second-place Hunting As, the pacesetting favorite, was haltered for the seventh race in a row. Even Rose Run Elegant, who tired and finished fifth, has now been purchased in four of his last five races.
 
Total amount paid for the six claims today: $137,000. Total amount of recent claiming transactions on these six if you include today’s prices: $489.000. Why all of the excitement? – Earnings of these six on the past performance lines plus today: $162,215 in their last seven starts combined.
 
The $15,000 trotting feature for developing horses went to the Tactical Landing filly Truly Authentic, who has now won two races in her last three starts (bridging last year and this) and Tuesday lowering her mark to 1:55.1. Åke Svanstedt trains and drove the improving miss, and his Åke Svanstedt Inc. owns her with Holm Hastgarden AB and Anne Siljamaki.
 
Racing resumes on Saturday at Pocono, with the 1 p.m. card headlined by a $25,000 fast-class pace; Sunday’s 6 p.m. card will find top Pennsylvania-sired sophomore trotting fillies in the second prelim of their Sire Stakes and Stallion Series competition, plus recent Maxie Lee winner Aetos Kronos S in a $25,000 fast-class trot. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The first full day of two-year-old races at Harrah’s Philadelphia in 2025 was held on Tuesday morning, with three cuts for each sex/gait combination except for only two races for trotting colts. The first pacing male race came before precipitation caused the track to be downgraded from “fast +0” to “sloppy +1” for the remainder of the two-year-olds’ competition, the debut race of all the babies.
 
The fastest performer of the day by far was the winner of the last of the baby races, the Stay Hungry – Zellweger Blue Chip pacing filly Lyons I Wanna Chip. The precocious frosh sat in the pocket then came her own back fractions in :56.4 - :27.2 to make her bow in 1:57.3 for owner Threelyonsracing. Her braintrust is two individuals who have had much success with females, especially on the local scene – driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim King Jr.
 
Another magic miler in her bow was the American Ideal – Fly In Style miss Liberty Style (the dam’s half brother Tattoo Artist was a $2.8-million winner). Fly In Style came from far out of it to post a 1:59.2 clocking, flashing late numbers of :55.2 - :26.4 for driver-trainer Andrew Stafford.
 
Among the pacing males, the Tall Dark Stranger – Time On My Hands colt Always Has Been went the fastest,  setting the pace then holding off Heartfelt Hanover by a nose in 1:59 - :58 - :28.3. Trainer Kevin Lare was behind the winner for owner Frank Chick.
 
The other two sections of this group were won by pupils of Polie Mallar, who is riding high with the recent success of Ken Hanover and who co-owns both babies. Mallar drove the Stay Hungry – Rockingcam Park colt Rasaji Hanover to victory in 2:00.1, coming home in :27.3, while Andrew McCarthy was behind the Captaintreacherous – American Sara colt American Road Trip, who wired his field in 2:01.2 - :29.
 
On the trotting side, the Greenshoe – Princess Lilly filly Aspire recorded the quickest mile, throwing in identical back splits of :29.3 to win in 2:02.2 for driver Tim Tetrick, trainer Jim Campbell (that pair also won a race with the Father Patrick – Cruella De Ville colt Spicoli), and owners Coyote Wynd Farms.
 
The fastest male trotting action saw the royally-bred Joe Bo (by Walner out of Solveig, dam of $2.78M winner Shake It Cerry) bow successfully in 2:03, going wire-to-wire with a :29.4 last quarter to turn back Repete Titan by the smallest margin  for driver Josert Fonseca, trainer Nancy Takter, and owners Christina Takter and Solveig’s Breeders.
 
Trainers Mallar and Campbell, as noted, trained two winning two-year-olds; Stay Hungry had the only siring double. Andrew McCarthy drove two successful freshmen; Tim Tetrick guided three, and he had five winners in all during the morning counting the qualifiers for older horses behind the baby races. With the surface upgraded to “good” for these events, Tetrick won with the Sweet Lou sophomore filly Faze in 1:53.2 - :55.4 - :27.4 and the Bettor’s Delight gelding Typhoon Banner N, a Borgata Series participant, in 1:52.1 - :54.4 - :26.4.
 
Philly baby races and qualifiers can be viewed at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – 15-1 King Strait moved outside after sitting third much of the way in the $15,000 featured trot at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon, then closed well to catch pacesetting favorite Soncando while taking a new mark of 1:55.4.
 
Soncando was used hard three-wide during a :27 opening quarter to get the lead, and even after backing off the midfractions to :56.4 and 1:26.1, the Cantab Hall gelding King Strait was able to outtrot him to the wire by a neck under the guidance of Ridge Warren. Trainer Jill Roland, whose whole barn has come alive in the last couple of weeks, also owns the feature race winner.
 
The Huntsville mare Bama Breeze this week drew inside of her main foe Chickaboo, who had the post advantage while winning last week, and Bama Breeze was able to reverse the decision in the $12,500 distaff claiming handicap pace, posting a 1:52.4 time that missed her individual best by a fifth. Bama Breeze, who had won three straight at Philly before coming to Pocono and finishing second, is back on the winning track for driver Simon Allard (who topped the drivers with three victories for the day), trainer Dean Eckley, and owner Jose Cervantes.
 
The racing week at Pocono ends on Tuesday with a 1 pm. program, which will feature no fewer than three carryovers: into the first race Superfecta and Pick 4, and into the last race High 5. The current mountain oval’s schedule is Saturday – Monday – Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m.; the card this Saturday is highlighted by a $25,000 fast-class pace, while the Sunday races will feature Pennsylvania Sire Stakes trotting fillies in their second preliminary round. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA -- $185,066 was on the line in competition for Pennsylvania-sired three-year-old trotting males Sunday night at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pocono, as the second prelim leg saw two divisions of PA Sire Stakes and four cuts of PA Stallion Series action contested over a track that was rated “sloppy” for all of the stakes races.
 
No horse was able to repeat in the Sire Stakes, but the early leader in the section would now have to be Go Dog Go, a Greenshoe colt who was third in the Breeders Crown Final and Valley Victory last year and who made a smashing 2025 debut to win in 1:52.3 – equaling the fastest trotting mile of the year at Pocono, including aged stock and despite the sloppy going.
 
Driven by Todd McCarthy for trainer Carter Pinske and owners Wiesman Farms LLC and Al Libfeld, Go Dog Go sat third behind fractions of :28.1, :57.1, and 1:25.1 before being unleashed, and the powerful trotter took it from there to win by 4¾ lengths, stepping his own back fractions in :55 - :27 while lowering his mark. And perhaps the scariest news of all? “He had the earplugs still in at the wire.”
 
In the other Sires Stakes section, another son of Greenshoe, the colt Meshuggah, after seconds in a Sire Stake and an All-Stars division, chalked up his first win of the year while reducing his speed badge to 1:54.1. Scott Zeron, the evening’s big winner with four visits to the winners circle, worked out a pocket trip behind Big Shoes, a first-round PaSS winner who had moved to the lead past the :28.1 opener and then posted middle clockings of :58 and 1:26.4.
 
Meshuggah hit high gear at the third pole and proved game while going his own back fractions in :56 – 27.1 to win a close contest – he triumphed by a length, with Greenma photoing out The Fix Is In, the other first-round winner, for second, ahead of Big Shoes and Frank Leahy, all within two lengths at the wire. Meshuggah is trained by Marcus Melander for Courant Inc.
 
Three of the four Stallion Series divisions were clocked in 1:55.1, but it was the one that went in 1:55.2 that produced the only StS two-time winner – the Bar Hopping gelding Gimlet Hanover, trained and owned by D. R. Ackerman and driven by Jim Marohn Jr. to a lifetime best. Gimlet Hanover held off a late rush by favored Non Disclosure to win by the slimmest of margins.
 
Of the three 1:55.1 winners, the one taking a new mark was the International Moni colt Golazo, who pulled off a 14-1 engine upset for Pocono’s top driver Tyler Buter and trainer Jill Roland, the latter co-owner with David Neilson. International Moni picked up a second StS sire credit with the gelding Wapiti Blue Chip, driven by Braxten Boyd for trainer Mahlon Martin and owners Ashley Burslem, Steven Mullen, and Gregory Garton. And Braxten Boyd picked up a second StS credit by rallying the Greenshoe gelding Lefties Righties from way off the pace to overhaul Give Me A Yankee for trainer Jenny Melander and the partnership of Chuck Sylvester, Charles Stansley, Lenavitt Investments LLC, and John Licausi.
 
Racing will continue at The Downs with Monday and Tuesday cards both beginning at 1 p.m. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Camera Man got his picture taken in the Harrah’s Philadelphia winners circle after he reduced his mark to 1:55.2 in Sunday’s $12,000 featured trot at the riverside oval.
 
The Six Pack colt was sent frontward by driver George Napolitano Jr., with the second choice making the lead in a :28.3 quarter and then getting a breather to the half in :58.3 – likely a decisive factor, as heavy favorite The Rogue Prince was far back much of the way in his seasonal debut.
 
“George Nap” increased the speed with the Åke Svanstedt trainee, owned by Åke Svanstedt Inc., and hit the three-quarters in 1:27.1, then still had a :28.1 last quarter to maintain the advantage to the wire. The Rogue Prince unleashed furious trot after losing unhelpful cover and blitzed home in :55.4 - :27.2                 to miss by a length while photoing out 21-1 pocketsitter Durant Hanover for the deuce.
 
Bettor Not Talk, double-looped out of the gate, pressed on two-wide past a :27.4 quarter, made the lead in front of the stands, then passed the midpoles in :56 and 1:23.2 en route to a solid 1:50.3 victory, the back fractions :54.3 - :27.1 for the Betting Line gelding owned by Allen Wenc. The victory was the third successful collaboration of the day between the meet’s leading driver, Tim Tetrick, and the 2025 top trainer here, Scott Di Domenico; Tetrick wound up with five success stories for the day and twelve for the local three-day week.
 
In the co-feature for the track’s top claiming handicap pacers, the Somebeachsomewhere gelding Hervey Hanover could wait in third until late in the backstretch to begin a charge frontward, but after splits of :26.4, :54.4, and 1:22.3, “Hervey” proved to be the strongest on the way home, winning easily in 1:51 for driver Andy Miller. Per Engblom trained the winner for owner Daniel Sarafian – but as you may have guessed by use of the past-tense word “trained,” Hervey Hanover will be changing barns after being haltered for $20,000.
 
The next card at Philly is on “Trottin’ Thursday,” which will feature $14,000 and $13,500 races for developing horses and a $13,000 handicap contest for the fast-class set. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Southwind Gendry, who earlier in the meet paced the fastest mile of the year at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, 1:47.4, caught a track rerated from “good” to “fast” only two races earlier and wired his field in the $18,500 fast-class pace Saturday afternoon, winning a three-horse photo in an exciting finish while stopping the clock in 1:49.3.
 
The 7-5 favorite Southwind Gendry, an altered son of Always B Miki who now has lifetime earnings of $1,318,822, left a little faster than the 8-5 second choice Combustion to his right and put him in the two-hole, with 10-1 outsider Dublin Dasher holding in line third from the rail. Southwind Gendry made the field work to keep up by setting fractions of :26.1, :54.3, and 1:21.4, which burnt off any two-wide contention.
 
The stretch battle would came down to the three pylonhugging horses, each of whom had won two of their last three races, and they were guided by drivers who would win nine of the eleven races on the Pocono Saturday card: meet leader Tyler Buter (four wins) and Southwind Gendry, George Napolitano Jr. (two wins) and Combustion, and Simon Allard (three wins) and Dublin Dasher.
 
Southwind Gendry was pressed the length of the stretch as Combustion went to the Pocono Pike and Dublin Dasher then found room deep in the passing lane, and the winner prevailed by a head over the pocket horse, with the third-in just another head away from taking it all. But the day belonged to Southwind Gendry, who is trained by Pocono’s leading trainer Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Phil Collura, Knox Services Inc., and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.
 
There were a pair of $17,000 co-features for “non-winners of 9 races,” one on each gait. The trotting contest saw Brodeur, a son of Tactical Landing, take the two-hole early in a :27 opener, brush to the top in front of the stands and lead past midsplits of :56 and 1:24.1 (while shrugging off first-over favorite Super Duper Cooper), then firmly retain control to the wire in a 1:53.1 clocking. Jim Marohn Jr. had the steer behind the Anette Lorentzon trainee, who is co-owned by Lorentzon, ACL Stuteri AB, and Kjell Johansson.
 
In the co-featured pace, raced when the track was still rated “good,” the Foreclosure N gelding Borninlockdown GB was hustled away by Tyler Buter to grab the early pocket behind Rio, going for his fifth straight and stepping up in class here. Rio put up strong fractions of :26.3, :55.1, and 1:22.2, but in the stretch Borninlockdown GB went free to the outside and sailed past the pacesetter while taking a new lifetime mark of 1:49.4. This was another collaboration of the Buter/Burke powers for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
 
Sunday night at 6 p.m., Pocono Downs will be hosting Hambletonian hopefuls in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action for three-year-old trotting males; their related Stallion Series events will have their concurrent second preliminaries raced as well. There will be a carryover for the Pick 5 pool beginning in race five. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The wagerers on the $12,000 featured distaff pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday afternoon sent off Verity Blue Chip as the heaviest of favorites, but she had to settle for second behind the wire-to-wire winner Intricacy, who took a new mark of 1:51.4.
 
Intiricacy, a sophomore daughter of Papi Rob Hanover who wound up the 5-1 second choice in her second start of the year, headed right for the front end under the guidance of meet leader Tim Tetrick, laying down fractions of :27.4, :56.2, and 1:23.4, with Verity Hanover getting to the wheel while raw at the three-quarters. But Intimacy had more in reserve and stretched her advantage to 2¾ lengths by the finish while winning for Joseph Davino, Brad Shackman, Patrick O’Brien, and Drennan Stable LLC.         
 
The $11,000 handicap pacing co-feature for fast veteran females also fell to the four-time defending Philly driving champion Tetrick, and again the winner, In The Spotlight N, paid a very un-“Timmy T” price of $21.20. The Bettor’s Delight mare followed cover late on the backstretch, continued to advance as the first-over cleared mid-far turn, then stayed strong to win by a length in 1:52.2 over favored Miss Dottie Mae. Jeff Cullipher trains In The Spotlight N for Pollack Racing.
 
In all, Tetrick won half of the ten races for which he was at Philly, then headed to The Meadowlands for stakes competition. George Napolitano Jr. visited Victory Lane three times, meaning that eight of the fourteen contests Friday were captured by the two drivers who have won the last eighteen win crowns at the Harrah’s oval (Cat Manzi won in the opening year of 2006; nobody else has ever won that crown).
 
Philly closes out the racing week on Sunday with a 12:40 card, featuring a pair of races for developing trotters and a duo on the pace for the veteran set. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Muscle Hill gelding Little Expensive, a $260,000 yearling, now has career earnings within $84 of that price after he captured the $14,000 fast-class trotting feature on Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia in a career best 1:51.4.
 
Little Expensive, who has now won four of his last five races, and driver Tyler Miller had no thought but going for the lead, with race favorite Resolve To Win stretching the winner a bit before yielding mid-first turn. Fractions of :27, :55.3, and 1:23.3 went up on the board with none of the other opposition really threatening, and then Resolve To Win moved outside to take his best shot, but the winner, owned by Andy Miller Stable Inc., Jean Goehlen, and VIP Internet Stable, withstood the chalk’s grind by  a half length.           .
 
Little Expensive was trainer Julie Miller’s second win of the day, and the name of the feature winner would have been appropriate to her other winner as well – the Papi Rob Hanover filly Supermax Contract, a $350,000 yearling buy, who was driven by Andy Miller to her initial win in 1:53.
 
Heavy favorite Usain Hanover made a brush to the lead nearing the half in the $13,000 co-featured trot, then tried to lose his field with a :26.4 third quarter. But the Shake It Off Lindy gelding Chipper Dale, star of the Maine program at two and three, refused to be shaken off, and he closed resolutely down the center of the track to catch the tiring chalk in 1:53.3.


Now 25-for-41 in his career with earnings of $315,403, Chipper Dale was driven to the win by Andrew McCarthy for trainer Per Engblom and the ownership of Evans Nation, Jeff Fought Racing, and Brian Carsey, who purchased the horse within a week of his Maine stakes schedule ending.
 
Honors for the day went to Andrew’s brother Todd McCarthy, who had three wins, one more than Andrew, George Napolitano Jr., and Tim Tetrick. Julie Miller, as noted, trained two winners – the only conditioner who doubled.
 
Racing continues at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday at 12:25 and on Sunday at 12:40; Friday’s card will feature a carryover into the fifth race Pick 5 wagering pool. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.