By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Explosive Matter sophomore gelding Chiplosive, returning to the form that helped him capture a Pennsylvania All-Stars and a PA Stallion Series division in recent outings, brushed to the lead at the half and wasn’t challenged from there in the $16,000 trotting feature in 1:55.4 at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday afternoon.

After a :27.3 first quarter, driver George Napolitano Jr. put the Trond Smedshammer trainee into motion, securing the lead at just about the :56.3 midpoint. None of his opposition had enough rally in the second half, with Chiplosive reaching the three-quarters in 1:25.4 and then coasting home 2¼ lengths ahead of the closing Amador to post his fifth seasonal victory for Purple Haze Stable LLC.

In a $14,500 pace for high-level females, the Western Paradise mare Lovineveryminute found room on the final turn, swung wide, and got to the front late in posting a $59.20 upset in 1:51.2. Tony Morgan, second in North American lifetime driving wins with 16,000+ to his credit, got Lovineveryminute to be most photogenic in a finish where five horses were separated by a length, boosting her earnings to $515,316. Carmine Fusco trains the winner for Brian and Ira Wallach Racing.
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Tim Tetrick drove four winners on the day; Dexter Dunn and George Napolitano Jr. had three victories each.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Headed by the undefeated Sister Sledge, the $181,105 third preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies will be held in three divisions during the twilight card on Monday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. There will also be five $20,000 Stallion Series divisions throughout the card.
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The Father Patrick – Behindclosedoors filly Sister Sledge may be named after the musical group who had a hit with the song “We Are Family,” but Sister Sledge has been distancing herself from her competition “family,” winning her four races by a cumulative 13¼ lengths. A two-time Sire Stakes winner, the faster of which came in 1:55.1 for the quickest time yet posted in her PaSS division, she is also the fastest freshman trotter of either sex on a 5/8-mile track with her 1:53.4 win in a Pennsylvania All-Stars win here at Pocono. Owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Jason Melillo, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby, Sister Sledge will begin from post three in the tenth race second division for trainer Ron Burke and driver Yannick Gingras.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
DAYTON PA – The Western Ideal sophomore pacing filly More More More liked the Dayton (PA) fairgrounds oval very much on Thursday afternoon, breaking her division’s track record with a 1:58.4 mile while also notching the section’s fastest clocking on the Keystone State’s fair circuit this season.
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More More More eclipsed the 1:59.3 track record set by Keystone Nikki two years ago. Her only other purse victory came in her last start at Honesdale, though she had bettered her Dayton clocking in qualifiers at both two and three at Pocono. The husband/wife ownership team of driver Tony and trainer Linda Schadel both tied for most wins in their categories during the Dayton meet – Tony guiding four sulky successes, and Linda harnessing three victorious charges.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The richest purse on “Trottin’ Thursday” at Harrah’s Philadelphia was the $18,000 contest for high-earning conditioned horses, but three other trots went faster than it did – including the most-anticipated matchup of the day, a $14.500 trot which saw red-hot Eurobond defeat The World’s Fastest Trotter, Homicide Hunter, in 1:52.

Eurobond, a four-year-old son of Love You who had won three straight before missing less than two lengths in the Cashman in his last start, blasted away from the rail for driver Andy Miller, who with wife/trainer Julie had four wins on the day. Homicide Hunter, from post four, had to be hustled early by David Miller to get around quick-starting lefthand foes, but made the pocket and sat behind Eurobond through fractions of :27.1, :56, and 1:24.2.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Two-year-old pacing colts three divisions strong will contest their $180,855 third preliminary of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Sunday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. There will also be four $20,000 divisions of third prelim action for the group’s Stallion Series races.

There have been two double winners so far in the Sires competition among these babies, and as expected both were made the early favorite in their respective divisions. First to see action will be the Western Ideal – A And G’sconfusion colt Adriano Hanover, starting from post three in the fifth race second division for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim King Jr. Adriano Hanover is undefeated in four lifetime purse starts, and he has a division of the Arden Downs Stake to his credit as well as the two PaSS wins, all recorded at The Meadows. He has a mark of 1:52.2, taken in Sires competition August 10.
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That same afternoon the Somebeachsomewhere – Road Bet colt Cattlewash went a tick faster in winning his Sire Stakes cut; in fact, both of his Sires wins have come in 1:52.1. Also a Pennsylvania All-Stars divisional winner here at Pocono, Cattlewash is just a head away from a perfect career, as he was nipped by Seeyou At Thebeach (a rival he faces Sunday) in their Arden Downs cut. Cattlewash will be driven by Yannick Gingras in the tenth race third division as the pair start from post three for trainer Ron Burke.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Tim Tetrick, the leading driver at Harrah’s Philadelphia, continued on his recent hot run with five sulky successes on the Wednesday afternoon card, winning the featured trot, finishing first in one of the two co-featured paces, and just getting edged in the other co-feature.
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The richest purse of the day was a $16,000 trot, which was taken by Captain Morgan, a four-year-old son of Cantab Hall who has raced lightly (this was only his 14th career start), but has shown much promise. Here Tetrick sent the winner of two straight right to the lead, put up fractions of :27.2, :56.1, and 1:25.1 over a track that had been reclassified as “fast” after earlier rain had evaporated, then dug in to handle a last quarter threat from pocketsitter Lapped By Lindy to get to the finish line a half -length to the good in 1:54.3. Staffan Lind trains the developing winner for Lind Racing Stable LLC, Bender Sweden Inc., Roy Holth, and Kemppisuojalampistable.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The field of seven assembled for Saturday’s $30,000 fast-class pacing event in the Great Northeast Open Series (GNOS) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono is one of the “winningest” collections of seasoned veterans, with a 43% success rate this year and 38% lifetime, and three of the most frequent visitors to Victory Lane are the favorites.
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Tabbed as the 5-2 morning line favorite from post four is None Bettor A (9 wins in 12 starts this year, 25-for-70 lifetime), with new trainer Andrew Harris selecting the track’s leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., to handle the Bettor’s Delight gelding. None Bettor A had won nine straight races, including a GNOS event, before finishing third behind last season’s Horse of the Year McWicked in the Gerrity Pace at Saratoga in his last start; he draws inside his two main rivals here, but he also has not raced since that July 20 mile at Saratoga.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WASHINGTON PA – During the two days of racing scheduled at the Washington (PA) County Fair, formerly and better known as Arden Downs, the two-year-olds got all of their action in on Monday, but rain midcard on Tuesday allowed only sophomore trotters to race in the “A” Sire Stakes – their pacing counterparts were washed out.

By far the most impressive mile of the meet came on Monday, from the Delmarvalous – Life’sarealbeach freshman pacing gelding Life’s Marvalous, who reduced his mark to 2:02 with his third win in the “A” fair Sires events. Roger Hammer is the breeder/owner/trainer/driver of the talented sophomore.

Hammer drove four winners on the Monday card, as did Todd Schadel, his co-owner on the storied Hambletonian winner Vivid Photo. With Hammer having the fastest freshman pacer, it seems appropriate that Schadel would have the fastest baby trotter, the Donato Hanover – By A Nose Hanover filly Byathread Hanover. Now a two-time fair winner at the “A” level, Byathread Hanover won here in 2:07.2 for trainer/driver Schadel, co-owner with his wife Linda.

Over a surface rated “slow” on Tuesday, the sophomore Winning Mister gelding Big Bad Caviar put up the fastest trotting time of the abbreviated session, covering the twicearound in 2:06.4 for his second win at the top Sire Stakes level on the circuit. Chris Shaw drove for trainer Jean Rastetter and owner Maryann Rastetter.
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During the busiest month on the Pennsylvania fair trail, the trotters and pacers will be right back in action at the Dayton Fairgrounds, with racing for two-year-olds Wednesday and three-year-olds Thursday, starting both days at high noon.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Father Patrick sophomore gelding Divine Spirit was reserved off a very fast pace by driver Eric Carlson, with the pair rallying in the last 3/8 to just get up in the $15,000 featured trot on the Tuesday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Divine Spirit was away sixth as P L Ketchup had to go a burning :26.4 quarter to get by fellow speedster Papi Hanover. Those two remained 1-2 past a :55.4 half, with the winner moving outside past that call and then getting cover from Trixar well before the 1:24.1 three-quarters. P L Ketchup looked as if he might survive to the wire despite the taxing pace, but Divine Spirit was moving fastest of all late and took a new mark in 1:54 while defeating P L Ketchup by a neck.

The victory was the first of the season for the gelding, who is trained by Brett Pelling and co-owned by him with Lindy Farms of Connecticut.
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In a $14,000 co-featured mares pace, slotted in race ten, the A Rocknroll Dance mare Sidewalk Dancer became the first favorite to win on the card when she tallied for driver George Napolitano Jr. in 1:51. Sidewalk Dancer was on the move at the :26.3 quarter, made the lead and got a :56.1 breather to the midpoint, then went 1:23.1 to the three-quarters and kept some nice distaffs at bay in the lane, winning by 3¼ lengths over Brunhilda for trainer Chris Oakes and the ownership of Northfork Racing Stable, Omar Beiler, and Dennis Coons.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – On Sunday night, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono hosted three divisions of the $168,480 third preliminary leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies. Trainer Tony Alagna accounted for two divisions with Treacherous Reign (1:49.4) and Tall Drink Hanover (1:50.2), while last year’s divisional champion Warrawee Ubeaut posted her second Sire Stakes win while posting a 1:50 mile.
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First up was Treacherous Reign, who started her season with four straight wins, including the Fan Hanover final on June 15, but had not won in four starts after that victory. Here driver Dexter Dunn put the Captaintreacherous filly on the lead before the :27 quarter, posted midrace splits of :55.4 and 1:22.3, then guided her home in 27.1, two lengths clear of pocketsitting Beach Bar. The winner of $482,797 is conditioned by Alagna for Alagna Racing LLC, Big Als Stables, Let It Ride Stables Inc., and Mr. Dana Parham.