By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Two trotters shipped into The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Tuesday afternoon – Katkin Morgan from Hoosier Park, Nezblanc from The Meadows – and promptly won the two trotting segments of the $15,300 tri-features.
 
The Donato Hanover gelding Nezblanc posted the faster mile, equaling his lifetime best of 1:53.1, and leading at every call for driver George Napolitano Jr., the perennial Pocono leader who won five races Tuesday. Aaron Johnston trains the trotter who looks to be headed for better things for owner Richard Hess.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
MEADVILLE PA – The Pennsylvania Fair Circuit went to the Crawford County Fairgrounds in Meadville PA for harness action this Sunday and Monday, and perhaps because Meadville was the home track of the legendary friend of the fairs, the late Walter “Boots” Dunn, the weather cooperated and allowed both days of racing to be held.
 
Sunday was devoted to the two-year-olds, and the fastest mile, 2:02, was recorded by a first-time starter at the fairs, the Captaintreacherous – Temptation Hanover gelding Captain T Hanover. Roger Hammer got along just fine with his new pupil as they won by 21½ lengths for owners Glenn Dyke, Douglas Johnson, and LeBlanc Racing Inc.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Driver Tyler Buter drove both winners in the $11,700 features for two-year-old trotters at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Monday afternoon.
 
Buter, who had three wins in all on the day, now has 3716 lifetime visits to Victory Lane. One of the baby trotters is conditioned by John Butenschoen; for him it was the 1800th triumph in her career. The other feature winner is trained by Tom Loughry Jr., who raised his lifetime win total to one – so we’ll write about that one first.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Two-year-old trotting colts and gelding showed their class having to deal with a sloppy track and near-constant rain all evening as they both raced two divisions in the fourth and final preliminary round in their Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series events during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohawk Sun Pocono.
 
Parola Hanover was most impressive as he broke his maiden in 1:55.2 despite the muck in the faster Sire Stakes division. Corey Callahan sent the colt by Bar Hopping – Peace Dove (she a three-quarter sister to the $1M-winning Cedar Dove) right to the lead, and the pair came home in :56.3 to be 4¼ lengths clear at the finish for trainer David Wiest, whose David L. Wiest Stables LLC share ownership with Ed Kimmel. 

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
MEYERSDALE PA – The midweek weather in southwestern Pennsylvania was cruel to two-year-olds racing on the Pennsylvania Fair Circuit, forcing the programs featuring them at the Dayton Fair and the Somerset County Fair in this town near the Maryland border to be cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Fortunately, the three-year-olds were able to get in their races at both locations on their respective next days.
 
At the Somerset Fair, which rejoined the circuit last year after many years of inactivity, perhaps the most impressive mile came in the very first contest of the meet, when the Southwind Frank gelding Killer Instinct ran his 2021 fair record to 6-4-2-0 with a victory in 2:01.2, missing the divisional track standard set last year by No Name Yankee by only three-fifths of a second. Wayne Long guided the sophomore, also one of the best on the circuit last season, to victory for the Brocious Racing Stable Inc. and Lone Wolf Stable, and continued a dream season for trainer Bob Rougeaux III, whose training record is 26-13-10-0-.714.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Avenir seems to like the recent addition of trotting hopples to her equipment card, as the sophomore filly rolled to her second straight triumph, winning the $12,600 featured trot over a Harrah’s Philadelphia oval rated “good +1” because of morning rain.
 
The daughter of Muscle Hill out of Chic Chick, a half-sister to millionaire Strong Yankee, was put right on the lead by driver Yannick Gingras, a four-time winner on the card, and came home in :56.3 to stop the timer in 1:54.3. In her previous start, a division of the Continentalvictory on Hambletonian weekend, she had won in 1:53.2 for trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc., and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Developing trotters contested two $14,400 featured races at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, while for the fast-class set a pair of $11,200 events served as co-features.
 
Hot sire Father Patrick fathered the sophomore winners of the top purse events. The faster was the colt Pivotal, who overcame the outside post eight with ease, had a clear lead throughout, and won by 6¼ lengths in a lifetime best 1:54.2 for driver Dexter Dunn, trainer Trond Smedshammer, and the partnership of Purple Haze Stables LLC and American Viking Racing Stable.
 
The filly A Hopeful Prayer has now won half of her ten 2021 starts after she went to the front and held off pocketsitting Tequila N Roses by two lengths in a 1:55 mile. Andy Miller, last seen hustling to his car to get to Yonkers for an early race, stayed at Philly long enough to guide the filly for trainer/wife Julie Miller and the ownership of Andy Miller Stable Inc. and Little E LLC.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – George Napolitano Jr. guided four horses to victory at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon, including one on each gait among the four $12,600 featured events.
 
On the trot, Napolitano sent the Father Patrick sophomore filly Sister Christina to the lead, then was able to withstand a strong closing burst by Givem The Goo by a head in 1:55.4, a new mark. Jim Campbell trains the winner for Coyote Wynd Farms.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Three $15,300 races for high-level developing youngsters headed the Tuesday afternoon card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono: two on the trot and one on the pace.
 
A horse in a feature race can miss the board in all six seasonal starts and still go off at 1-20 – as long as he earned a check in each start to bankroll $66,985 and has Manchego, Beads, Ready For Moni, and It’s Academic in his competition lines. Such was the case with the Father Patrick four-year-old stallion Gangster Hanover, who relished the drop in company and promptly took a new mark of 1:52.2. George Napolitano Jr. put the career winner of $321,858 on the lead after a :28 quarter, got to the half in :57.3, and then coaxed :27.2 speed from his horse in each of the last two quarters, with his margin at the wire winding up at 14 ¼ lengths. The trotter is trained by Åke Svanstedt, who co-owns him with S R F Stable and Brittany Farms.