WILKES-BARRE PA – The Art Major gelding Belmont Major N upped his North American record to 2-for-3 with a well-earned, hard-fought 1:49.3 mile in the male pacer division of Tuesday’s tri-$15,300 features at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Tyler Buter got the 8-5 co-favorite away fourth from post seven, then went up uncovered down the backstretch to challenge pacesetter and co-favorite Cigar Smoking Tony, who had set early fractions of :27 and :55.1. The two rivals were locked in a big battle to and past the 1:22.2 three-quarters, with Tell Them Lou and Im A Gigolo N entering the late picture to the left and right, respectively, but the photo came down to the chalk, and it showed Belmont Major N just the smallest bit more photogenic for trainer Hunter Oakes and owner Thaddeus Weir.