By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Pocketsitting Southport Beach avoided a breaking pacesetter nearing the stretch and came through to a 1:52.3 victory in the $12,000 claiming handicap pacing feature Sunday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
Southpoint Beach went to the lead early for driver Troy Beyer and got to the front in :26.3, but then a host of challengers came on in the second quarter: Cliffhanger, who had gotten to the top nearing the second turn; Rickybobbynthehaus, who moved with that one’s cover but then was stuck first-over at and past the :55.4 half; and Jaffa Josh N, a winner in this class last week and here second-over. Cliffhanger and Rickybobbynthehaus battled past the 1:23.1 quarter, and it was mid-far turn that Cliffhanger lost gait and was taken inside. Beyer kept Southport Beach out of major danger and then outfooted “Rickybobby” by 1½ lengths in winning for trainer Marc Mosher and owner Jerry Zollo.
 
There were five pacing divisions of American Harness Drivers Club action for amateur drivers, and there was a story in every one: Chris Temming guiding his own Wardan Express N to a lifetime mark of 1:51.1 while recording only his second driving triumph; Tony Beltrami scoring a driving double with Safensound Hanover and Secrecy; Frank Tsipouras lighting up the board with Cruise Patrol at $63.60; and two-time national Amateur Driver of the Year Dean Spriggs tallying with Far Better. In an AHDC trot, River Otter repeated his successful wire-to-wire tactics at Pocono last week with a 1:56.1 engine win for driver Bob Hechkoff.
 
Racing will resume at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon with a 12:25 p.m. post time. Program pages will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.  

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Miss McKee was sent straight to the lead by driver George Napolitano Jr. and never looked back in winning the $17,500 featured trot on Saturday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
Miss McKee faced an early challenge from favored Rich And Miserable, looking for his fourth straight victory, but was able to get that rival in behind her going to a :26.3 quarter. Middle fractions of :55.4, and 1:24 ensued, and at headstretch Rich And Miserable took another pass at the leader but could make up no ground, as the victorious Muscle Massive mare won in 1:53, equaling her mark, while 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Baldaquin, who closed well up the inside after a third-in trip; Rich And Miserable had to settle for third, another half length back. Miss McKee is trained by Robert Baggitt Jr. for J L Sadowsky LLC.
 
There were a trio of $17,000 co-features on the Saturday card at Pocono, two of them on the trot. The faster of these two winners was the three-year-old filly Luisella, as hard-trying a horse as you would like; the Bar Hopping filly lowered her mark to 1:54.2 for driver Tom Jackson, trainer Fred Grant and owner Russell Williams. In the other division, Bar Hopping completed a siring sweep of the trotting co-features, as the gelding Mister Boinga sat a pocket trip, then rallied to catch pacesetter Hall It Off by a nose in 1:54.4 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Jill Roland, and owner Bernard O’Brien.
 
The pacing co-feature was the last race of the day, and it was taken by the Big Jim gelding Springbridge Duel, who in the final strides was able to parlay a second-over journey into a 1:51.2 triumph, a neck ahead of Good Deal in a race where the first six finishers were only 1 ½ lengths apart at the finish. Tyler Buter was in the sulky for trainer Jennifer Bongiorno and owners Glenn Goller, Abraham Basen, and Mark Harder.
 
Jim Pantaleano, Anthony Napolitano, and Tyler Buter won the last three races on the Saturday card; for Pantaleano it was his fourth winner of the day, while “A Nap” and Buter completed driving triples. 
 
Sunday’s 5 p.m. racing card is dominated by Pennsylvania-sired two-year-old pacing males: there will be two divisions of Sire Stakes and five $20,000 divisions of Stallion Series action, with both events conducting their third preliminary rounds. In the $162,620 Sire Stakes the only double PaSS winner, Ervin Hanover, is among the entrants, as is the interesting Lyons Stealth, who won two Stallion Series then has since gone on to win an Arden Downs event on Adios Day and now tries the highest-level freshmen. Pocono program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Allywag Hanover seemed to be saying, “Hey, Bulldog and you other guys, don’t forget I’m still around!” by overcoming the outside post six and a three-week layoff in winning the $22,500 fast-class handicap pacing feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia in 1:49.1 on Friday afternoon.
 
The 2021 Older Pacing Horse of the Year was three-wide just past the first three-sixteenths for driver Todd McCarthy, then dropped down behind No Lou Zing as that one wrested the lead from Grand Cayman at the :26.1 quarter. Allywag Hanover pressed on to three-eighths command, hit the half in :54 and the three-quarters in 1:21.1, then effortlessly drew clear, with hard-closing Hellabalou whittling down the margin to 2 1/2 lengths but not ever appearing threatening.
 
The Captaintreacherous five-year-old gelding won for the second straight time after opening his campaign with two seconds and a third against literally the fastest crop of pacers ever, including two seconds to Bulldog Hanover (p, 4, 1:45.4). Brett Pelling may be getting this one back to the place where he can fight Bulldog, Abuckabett, Rockyroad, Linedrive, Ruthless, and other free-for-allers not named Hanover for the Allywag Stable, which saw their star raise his money total to $1,264,780.
 
The Early Daily Double had a couple of interesting facts attached to it. From the first race: You may never see a Standardbred in the first race of the day – anywhere -- set the pace and come home in :53.3 and still be beaten, but that’s what happened when J M Mandamin set fractions of :26.4, :56, and 1:22.3, yet was caught by pocketsitter Ultimaroca by a length in a 1:49.2 mile. 
 
From the second race: Courtney Foster, from a well-known Maryland harness racing dynasty and whose 34th birthday is in one week, won with the first horse she ever sent to post, with the trotter College Tuition winning the second half of the Double for the milestone accomplishment. Foster would come back as the trainer of last race winner Trip Hammer to put her in what must be a small group of trainers who won with their first two starters.
 
Tim Tetrick, winningest driver at Philly this year, added four more victories to his total for the season; he now has 137 wins after 67 cards, better than two a day, and Tetrick sometimes misses cards or parts of cards to honor commitments elsewhere (Friday, for example, he left after Philly’s tenth race.)
 
Sunday’s racing will feature the track’s highest-level claiming pacers going in a $12,000 handicap event, with four of the eight entrants showing wins in this class on their lines. There will also be six American Harness Drivers Club races for amateur horsemen, five paces seeded by classification, and a trot. Program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.    

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – A pair of Hall Of Famers – driver David Miller and trainer Ron Burke – combined to spring a 10-1 upset with Yanks Dugout in the $16,200 trotting feature on Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
Miller left well with the Triumphant Caviar gelding but found contention all around him, finally making the top just past a :27 opener then yielding to favored Sorella, and went to the half of :55.3 and had the front part of the field strung out nearing the 1:23.3 three-quarters. But Miller asked his trotter for more, and he wheeled outside late on the turn, made his way to the lead in upper stretch, then battled home to hold off the inside thrust of Focus Pocus by a neck in 1:53.1. This was the first victory for Yanks Dugout since his win in the Open trot on Super Stakes Sunday here May 29, and this victory helped raise his lifetime bankroll to $322,348 for owners Ivan and John Duke Sugg.
 
In the $15,300 co-featured trot for developing horses, X O X O seems to love racing right now, departing her native Quebec with two wins in a row, adding two more at Yonkers, and now notching a second straight victory at Philly, here in 1:55 despite having to tuck early and then go first-over. But driver George Napolitano Jr. found the daughter of Angus Hall more than ready to overcome such a rough journey, winning by 1¾ lengths over Yucatan Party Man, who photoed Colonial AS IT for second. Deborah Daguet trains the winner of six straight, a good stakes performer at two and three in la belle province, for D Racing Stable Inc.
 
Feature winners Miller and Napolitano each had three successes on the day, with each scoring with two favorites early – the chalk started out five-for-six, then was blanked the rest of the card.
 
The Harrah’s Philly Racing Office, perhaps with an eye to other stakes and events this weekend, switched the fast-class pacers to the Friday card this week. The feature on the 12:25 card is the $22,500 handicap pace in the tenth slot, with last year’s older pacer of the year Allywag Hanover beginning from the outside in the field of six while searching for his second straight at Philly. There is also a $10,000 guaranteed pool in the Pick-4 bet starting with the first race; that pool will contain a $2288.90 carryover from the last, unsolved Pick-4 on Thursday. Program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.   

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CLEARFIELD PA – The Pennsylvania fair circuit came to this northcentral Pennsylvania city for its only four-day stand of the season – two-year-olds on Sunday and Mondays, then three-year-olds the last two days, with trotters on the first card of the age group and pacers the second.
 
The freshman baby trotters thus led off on Sunday, with the fastest time, 2:05.1, recorded by the Fordham Road – Diamond Creek gelding Drive To Deliver for owner/trainer Roger Hammer. Hammer won two races as owner/trainer/driver; Brady Brown also drove two winners on the card.
 
During Monday’s baby pacing action, the Betting Line – Goldies Bad Girl filly Rambling Ruby became the fair circuit’s only five-time winner so far, going in 2:03.3 for trainer/driver Todd Schadel and owners Andy Miller Stable Inc., Jean Goehlen, and Bert Hochsprung. Faster in this class was the 2:03.1 turned in by the A Rocknroll Dance – Monet’s Lilly filly Little Lady J for driver Brady Brown and owner/trainer Mitchell York. Fastest male was the Betting Line – Triplet Hanover gelding Trifecta Hanover, home in 2:01.4 for trainer/driver Todd Schadel, also co-owner with Glenn Dyke and LeBlanc Racing Inc.
 
When the three-year-old trotters took over Tuesday, an experimental 5:30 p.m. post time was used, with its merits to be studied for future uses. Fastest trotter of the day, and the meet, was the Better Caviar miss Caviar On Broadway, trained and driven by Dave Wade, co-owner with Gerald Brittingham and William Peel III, in a 2:04.2 mile.
 
The final card brought out the three-year-old pacers and the Always B Miki gelding Buchannon Hanover, whose 1:58.2 mile was by far the fastest mile of the meet, and just a fifth shy of the divisional track record set last year by Terry A Hanover. Trainer/driver Todd Schadel and his wife Christine own Buchannon Hanover, who now has three 2:00 miles on the fair circuit this year, while no other horse has more than one.
 
Todd Schadel won the Buster DiSalvo trophy, annually given to the horseman driving the most winners; Brady Brown was second in this competition. Todd also sent out the most winners from his barn, with Roger Hammer, Aaron Johnston, and Steve Schoeffel also harnessing multiple winners from their shedrow during a meet where eighteen different trainers won at least one race.
 
The Pennsylvania Fair Circuit now “splits.” There will be racing at the Wayne County Fair in Honesdale (northeast Pennsylvania) this Saturday and Sunday as their “two-day Sire Stakes” event, and then their “regular fair meet” will take place this coming Wednesday and Thursday. The Greene County Fair in Waynesburg (southwest Pennsylvania, and birthplace of Dave Palone) will have two days of racing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Post times vary at Honesdale; Waynesburg’s first race both days is at 10 a.m. Entries are drawn on the PA fair circuit two days before the first day of the meet.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Claw took a firm grasp on the throttle in the $14,400 pacing feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon, going on to stop the timer in 1:50.4 while recording his third straight victory.
 
A recent winner at The Meadowlands in 1:49.4, The Claw and driver David Miller let outside post rivals argue during a :27.3 first quarter, then moved up to the lead in front of the stands, reaching the half in :56. From there the winning sophomore colt by Huntsville showed a high turn of closing speed, pacing his third quarter in :27.3 and then finishing out in :27.1 to be 2¼ lengths to the good over pocketsitting Hecandancencruise; favored Stonebridge Reef, five lengths back at the half and thus needing to gain into a :54.1 back half, grinded uncovered well to be third, 1½ lengths behind Hecandancencruise.
 
Unraced at two, The Claw has now won six of eleven lifetime starts, and looks on his way to better things for trainer Jake Leamon and the partnership of Kenneth Klein, Michael Cimaglio, William Salmeri, and Stephen Demeter.
 
Hall Of Famer Miller, the leading moneywinner among active drivers by guiding the winners of almost $265 million, led his rivals this Wednesday at Philly by visiting the winners circle four times.
 
Carryover situations in the Pick-4 and Pick-5 wagers led Harrah’s Philadelphia, in conjunction with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering program, to offer $20,000 guaranteed pools on the initial Pick-4 of the day and the only Pick-5. Play was brisk, and a handful of bettors did very well indeed: the Pick-4, which had three winners at odds of 3-1 or less surround a $59.00 bomber, resulted in a $1204.20 payoff for the 50-cent base wager; the Pick 5 started with two favorites, then had 9-1, 9-1, and 12-1 shots win the next three contests, with the 50-cent base bet returning $11,192.60.
 
The card on Philly’s “Trottin’ Thursday” will feature a $16,200 fast-class event, matching talented males against two of the better mares around: P L Notsonice, who had three straight wins against “mere mortals” before bumping heads with Alrajah One IT, Atlanta, and When Dovescry in her last two starts, and Sorella, who will be looking to edge her $987,262 lifetime bankroll closer to seven figures. Program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.    

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Jujubee, 2021’s Trotter of the Year, returned to the racetrack this morning at The Downs at Mohegan Sun, winning a qualifier in 1:55.4 with trainer Greg Wright Jr. in the sulky.
 
The four-year-old son of Creatine, owned by Jon Erdner, made every pole a winning one in his morning session, going pedestrian opening splits of :29.4 and :59.3, increasing the speed down the backstretch to reach the three-quarters in 1:28, and then hitting a higher gear to come his last quarter in :27.4.
 
The winner of the Breeders Crown and Kentucky Futurity last season, Jujubee had put in a 1:56.1 qualifier at Spring Garden Ranch on April 13; after that, it was determined to delay Jujubee’s 2022 racetrack campaign. The fast trotter’s qualifier would give every indication that he is back on course to soon be meeting up with the sport’s top trotters.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Bet Eightthirtyone stormed home in the deep Pocono Pike to win the $13,000 pacing feature on Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in 1:55.1.
 
The race was conducted as a downpour came through the area; though the rain soon stopped, this would be the last event before the track was rerated from “fast” to “sloppy.” 
 
Marcus Miller got the victorious Betting Line gelding away third as Mister David C set the pace ahead of favored Stormy Beach, with second choice Letmecallyouback advancing via the always-tough tuck-then-first-over route and Ripplesonthebeach right on his back. As they turned for home, Stormy Beach ducked to the inside of the pacesetter, but it soon became clear that the horse with the most pace was the one right behind him, as Bet Eightthirtyone gave a sharp burst when shown inside clearance and reached the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Ripplesonthebeach, the only other horse moving with real velocity late.
 
Marcus Miller’s father Erv trains the winner, who notched his first success of the season while missing his lifetime best by only a tick for owner D R Van Witzenburg.
 
The sky was sunny, though the track remained sloppy, by the time that No Drama Please accounted for the $12,500 co-featured trot, brushing to the lead in front of the stands and keeping control for a 1:55 victory. Tom Fanning trains the Trixton gelding, now a winner of $396,838, for owner Joseph Smith. For driver George Napolitano Jr., the victory was one of four on the day.
 
Racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday at 1:30, with the usual pacing assortment of fast-class veterans and hard-knocking claimers in the predominance. Fans attending the Downs will also be able to wager on and watch the prestigious Hambletonian Day card from The Meadowlands.
 
On Sunday’s 5 p.m. program, there will be the third preliminary of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Pennsylvania Stallion Series events for two-year-old pacing males, with two Sire Stakes contests and five Stallion Series contests containing many colts of great promise. In the $162,620 Sire Stakes the only double Sire Stake winner, Ervin Hanover, is among the entrants, as is the interesting Lyons Stealth, who won two Stallion Series then has since gone on to win an Arden Downs event on Adios Day. Pocono program pages will be available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Aggiornamento, which is the Italian word for “modernization,” updated his career statistics to five wins in six races with a hard-fought 1:55 victory in the Monday afternoon feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
Driver Tom Jackson, after the race just four wins away from a career total of 5000, was able to sit third with the three-year-old Nuncio gelding until the five-eighths, while By The Book took the field to the quarter in :28 and then yielded to Abruzzo before the :56.4 half. Aggiornamento grinded up to the pacesetter nearing the 1:25.4 three-quarters and battled him the rest of the way, winning by half a length.
 
Aggiornamento was undefeated in four starts at two, including a victory in the Kentucky stakes program. In his first start of 2022, he made a break at the start but rallied for a dead-heat for third; this victory reinforces that the Fred Grant trainee, owned by Russell Williams, could be one to watch in the next few weeks.
 
Jackson later got win #4997 in dramatic fashion, rallying the 1-5 favorite Magical Journey from last after an early miscue to win bravely in 1:57.1. Tom tied with Simon Allard and Anthony Napolitano as posting driving doubles.
 
The racing week concludes Tuesday at The Downs with a 1:30 card; program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html. Preparations are already well underway for Saturday, August 20’s $2 million Sun Stakes Saturday, featuring rich stakes contests for all four of the three-year-old divisions, and a $100,000 Invitational on each gait.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Drama Act showed superior ability in defeating a tough field in 1:49.4 to take the $25,000 mares fast-class pacing feature during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
 
Simon Allard was between horses during a torrid :26 opening quarter with Drama Act, letting Shes Pukka N go to the top after that point but quickly coming on the remove and getting a breather to a :55.2 half. From there the daughter of Well Said was dominant, passing the three-quarters in 1:22.2 as first-over Easy To Please ducked into a vacated pocket, then holding that rival off by 2 1/2 lengths.
 
Ron Burke, Pocono’s leading trainer, completed a “Pennsylvania triple” over the weekend with the victory, winning The Adios at The Meadows Saturday afternoon and notching a victory at Harrah’s Philadelphia before Drama Act’s Sunday success at The Downs. She has earned $331,310 this year, and her lifetime scorecard reads 28 wins in 56 starts and $752,422 in earnings for The OK Corral.
 
There were a pair of $17,500 co-features; the one for trotters saw the Credit Winner mare Dee’s Red Delicious winning for the second straight time in a photo, here holding off Mystical Wynn by a neck in 1:54.1 for driver Jordan Stratton, trainer Travis Alexander, and Fiddler’s Creek Stables LLC. The pacing mare co-feature went to the Betting Line mare Milieu Hanover, exploding off cover to defeat Plzdontlietome by 1¼ lengths in 1:51.1 for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Nicholas Devita, and the partnership of Devita Racing Stable Inc., David Hamm, and Christopher Giaccio.
 
In $11,000 races for the American Harness Drivers Club’s amateur horsemen, owner/driver Dante Scattolini was first to parade a horse back to Victory Lane, winning with Spree in 1:57, while the other section saw owner/driver Bob Hechkoff and River Otter refuse to give up the lead and come home first in 1:55.1.
 
Marcus Miller had three victories on the card, the same number as successful favorites; this was a day of upsets in eastern Pennsylvania, as between Harrah’s and Pocono the chalk went only 5 for 27.
 
The racing week continues on Monday and Tuesday at The Downs, both cards will start at 1:30 p.m. Program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.