By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Daiquiri Hanover had little trouble handling his opponents in 1:53.2 in the $15,000 featured trot Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
The $251,646-winning son of Bar Hopping laid just off a three-way battle during a :28.1 quarter, then was moved frontward before the finish line the first time, making the lead before the :57 half. 1:25.2 speed to the three-quarters saw Daiquiri Hanover in control, and he extended his dominance by trotting his last quarter in :28 and winning by 5¾ lengths. The Tony Alagna trainee, owned by one of harness racing’s few Louisiana-Utah-California partnerships – Adam Hawthorne, Jade Hadfield, and Itzak Madae was driven by Pocono’s leading driver, Tyler Buter.
 
A $12,500 fast-class trot went to the Italian-bred Demone Deiventi IT, an altered son of Mago D’Amore who went to the lead at the quarter, then held off a late comeback attempt by the horse he had passed early in the mile, Happy Chopper, by a head. Time for the mile was 1:53.3 for the horse whose name translates to “Demon of the Wind,” who was driven by Simon Allard for trainer Hunter Oakes and Flying A Racing Stable. The drivers of the feature winners, Allard and Buter, tied for the day’s honors with three victories.
 
Anthony Napolitano is the third-leading driver at Pocono, so it is a bit surprising that he has driven the last three $50+ winners at the northeast Pennsylvania track, and leads all horsemen for the year in this category with eight. After guiding home a “bomber” in consecutive races a week ago Saturday, “ANap” added to his total by going wire-to-wire with P L Quinella in Tuesday’s race twelve – and not too many $81.60 winners triumph by 2½ lengths. This was also the fifth straight Pocono $50+ horse to strike in a race whose number runs to double digits.
 
 Racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday with a 1 p.m. card that will feature a carryover into the first race Superfecta pool; it is noted that the card scheduled for Sunday, August 24 at 6 p.m. has been cancelled. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – There were five $15,000 feature races at Pocono Downs at Mhegan Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon. They were for developing horses basically fitting the “non-winners of four races lifetime” description, and there were divisions for the major categories.
 
The lone division for females went to Ballast, a Tall Dark Stranger sophomore filly who won her second straight after capturing a Stallion Series race in her previous start. Ballast let the early fireworks settle past the :26.3 opener then brushed to the lead just under the wire the first time, putting up middle splits of :55.1 and 1:23.3, then withstanding Odds On Aces Full to her inside and Verity Blue Chip to her outside for trainer Travis Alexander and EVM Racing LLC.
 
The win behind Ballast was the final one in a natural five-bagger for three-time defending Pocono champion Matt Kakaley, It looked like the streak might carry on to six as Kakaley next had The Rogue Prince, coming from competing in the Hambletonian eliminations in one of the two $15,000 headliners for trotters.
 
However, despite racing in a good flow The Rogue Prince could do no better than third. After a mild early tempo of :28.4 and :58.2, the International Moni three-year-old gelding Scudo Hanover came up strongly down the back, followed by Honolulu Hanover and The Rogue Prince, and “Scudo” would clear by the 1:26.2 three-quarters. Honolulu Hanover got to tuck in the new pocket on the far turn and continued his challenge in the Pocono Pike while The Rogue Prince gained outside, but neither could catch Scudo Hanover, who won in 1:54.3 for driver Jim Marohn Jr., trainer Robert Baggitt Jr., and Keystone Stable.
 
In the other top-level trot, Furst Igor N was first at every pole, ringing up splits of :29, :58.2, and 1:27.2 before scurrying home in :28.2 to complete the 1:55.4 victory. An altered son of top European trotter Readly Express, Furst Igor S has left behavioral problems largely behind him now, with trainer Marc Mosher tapping Simon Allard for the drive behind the horse, owned by A 1 Racing.
 
Two of the top races were for pacing males, and Anthony Napolitano drove the winners of both races.
The faster went to the Huntsville gelding Imgoingtojackson, who’s going to his stall with a new 1:50.3 mark despite early entanglement with Laugh Shop, his conqueror of last week, through fractions of :26.3, :54.3, and 1:22.3. Imgoingtojackson went on to stamp himself as the best today for trainer Carl Conte Jr. and owner Ellen McNeil.
 
Also taking a new lifetime best was the American Ideal gelding American Warrior, who worked to the lead well past a :27 opener, passed the middle poles in :55.3 and 1:23.3, then withstood Sweet Parlay to his outside and Power Code to his inside for trainer Deborah Daguet and owners Brian and Kim Sears.
 
The Pocono racing week concludes with a 1 p.m. card on Tuesday. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
MEADVILLE PA – The Pennsylvania fair circuit returned to the Crawford County Fairgrounds in this northwest Pennsylvania city on Saturday and Sunday, and perhaps it was the warmer weather and better surface (the track was rated “+2” the first day and “+3” the second), but the two-year-olds that opened the weekend generated the quickest miles on both their gaits for the two-day stand.
 
The Stay Hungry – Pueblo Blue Chip gelding Quill Gordon became the first two-year-old to tally in five “A” starts, and his Meadville win in 2:02.2 proved the be the quickest mile of the entire meet. A winner of four straight fair races now, Quill Gordon was driven by Eric Neal for trainer Mitchell York, co-owner with Erin York.
 
The baby trotters also produced the fastest race on their gait, and it came from a filly – the Bar Hopping – Lady Ping miss Drinks On Olivia, who won for the partnership of driver Wayne Long and trainer Joyce Lineweaver in 2:05.3 for her first “A” victory. The clocking beat out by a fifth that of another Bar Hopping progeny, the gelding Harlem Hanover (dam Hallance), who made his fair debut a successful one after winning in the pari-mutuel Stallion Series. Todd Schadel drove for trainer Bill Daugherty Jr. and owners Susan Daugherty and Perry Wilson.
 
Though not benefiting from optimal racing conditions, there were three-year-old performances of note, with the fillies having a good day: both “A” pacing filly winners went faster than the “A” single male heat, and on the trot an “A” male was tied by a “B” filly.
 
The sophomore “A” pacing filly winners were the Heston Blue Chip distaff Don’t Touch My T, now a three-time winner in the top level, in 2:03; behind her by two ticks of the clock was the Tall Dark Stranger filly Skepticism, who now has won four straight races in the “A”s, including two miles in 2:00 or less.
 
Going to the diagonally-gaited side, the magic number was 2:08, and it was achieved by both the Cantab Hall gelding Cantab Zette, now a winner in his last four “A” starts, and the “B” Fordham Road filly RT Watch Me, a three-time winner on the lower level and possibly coming up to racing in the higher local company.
 
Eric Neal and Todd Schadel both had five sulky successes during the meet to share honors in that category; Schadel sent out four winners, giving him that crown by one over Aaron Johnston and Joyce Lineweaver.

 After eight cards in eight days, the Pennsylvania fair circuit gets a “major break” of three entire days until the trotters and pacers set up shop in Indiana (PA) on Thursday and Friday, starting both days at 2 p.m. (contrary to what you might have seen or heard anywhere else), and the box closing at 10 a.m. per Pennsylvania fair circuit custom.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Christopher Dance N, who had bad luck in his U.S. debut at The Meadowlands, opened his American win count with a 1:51.3 victory in the $14,000 feature for up-and-coming pacers on a muggy Sunday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
The son of Sweet Lou pressed on past a :28 quarter to reach the top in front of the stands and hit the half in :57.1, then picked up the speed to meet the challenge of first-over Odds On Wildfire (both were sent off at even money; the latter had a few more bucks on him to win). The two pacers battled through the 1:25 three-quarters and all the way to the wire, with Christopher Dance N speeding home in :26.3 to win by 1½ lengths.
 
Johnathan Ahle handled the sulky duties behind Christopher Dance N, who earned $123,681 in but eight 2024 Down Under starts, for trainer Jeff Cullipher, third in the Philly standings, and owners Pollack Racing LLC.
 
In the $13,000 fast-class handicap pace, the He’s Watching gelding Funtime Bayama returned to the limelight with a victory in 1:49.4 for driver Jack Pelling and trainer Andrew Harris, the latter co-owner with William Pollock (a Pollack-Pollock “sweep” in the Philly features) and Bruce Areman. Funtime Bayama headed right down the road while setting fractions of :26.3, :54.1, and 1:21.4, then drew off easily to bump his bankroll to $360,452.
 
Mark Herschberger, now fourth in the Philly driving win column, guided four horses back to Victory Lane for the day’s horsemen’s honors.
 
Racing will continue on a three-card-a-week schedule at Philly, with Thursday and Friday racing at 12:25 p.m. and Sunday’s action starting at 12:40. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
DAYTON PA – The Pennsylvania fair harness racing circuit touched down for two days of racing on Wednesday and Thursday at the fairgrounds in this borough 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, where the themes of the stand were many repeat winners – and “B” level two-year-olds frequently bettering the clockings of their “A” counterparts.
 
The two-year-olds raced on Wednesday, and three of the traditional four sections saw a quicker clocking posted in the lower-level stakes. Fastest of all the Dayton freshmen was the Tall Dark Stranger – Viva La Deo gelding Venom Hanover, who broke his maiden in 2:05.3 (to be fair, so to speak, he did show a 1:56.3 qualifying win at Pocono) for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, also co-owner with Jim Simpson, Timothy Hayes, and Dr. Megan Moschat. The “A” winner a race earlier was Quill Gordon (a Stay Hungry – Pueblo Blue Chip gelding) whose victory was his third straight win and fourth “A” triumph overall, tying him for top among all higher-level fair babies.
 
The other quadruple “A”-winning freshman is the Always B Miki – Zane Hanover miss Beachy’s Mistress, but speedwise she took a back seat to the 2:07 mile of four-time “B” winner Dark Sky (Tall Dark Stranger – Firestorm), co-owned by trainer-driver Todd Schadel in partnership with wife Christine and Caitlin Solt. The other faster winner in “B” action was also a Todd Schadel production, the Greenshoe - Dominica gelding The Rizzler, who had posted two “A” wins before a downturn in form brought him to the lower level, where he was rejuvenated, and he recorded the fastest juvenile trot of 2:08.
 
The only “A” two-year-old to also be fastest was the Cantab Hall – BWT Maija miss Sueetta, who has now won three-in-a-row in “A”s  for trainer-driver Steve Schoeffel.
 
During Thursday’s three-year-old racing the “A” group restored the normal speed primacies, and Eric Neal was the driving force with six successful sulkysittings.  Neal was the pilot of the Tom Loughry Jr. trainee Skepticism, a daughter of Tall Dark Stranger who had the fastest mile at Honesdale and here won in 2:00 for the quickest clocking of the Dayton stand for owner Geraldine Poerio.
 
The winningest horse of all at the fairs is the Captain Crunch colt Bettor Not, now undefeated in eight starts over the twicearounds after a victory for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, co-owner with wife Christine.
 
Fastest trot of the meet was the 2:05.2 victory of the Bar Hopping gelding Set The Bar, a five-time “A” winner and author of the fair year’s fastest trot (1:58.4 at Hughesville). Another charge of trainer-driver Schadel, he is owned by Todd and his wife Christine along with Rick and Regina Beinhauer.
 
The International Moni filly Tally The Tab, trained and driven by Todd Schadel, won her sixth “A” stake in the day’s curtainraiser, but ironically she was the one top-level sophomore whose time was bettered by a “B” winner.  The Neal / Loughry connection struck again with the Greenshoe miss RT Paint It Black, owned by Lone Wolf Stable, whose 2:05.4 mile was a tick better than Tally The Tab’s.
 
Eric Neal’s thunderous Thursday of sulky success, including wins in the last two races of the meet, allowed him to take Dayton honors with seven sulky scores to Todd Schadel’s six; Schadel’s six training wins gave him the crown in that category.
 
Thursday was the only day of the year on the Keystone fair circuit where two tracks raced in one day; a meet at Meyersdale in Somerset County, 110 miles almost due south of Dayton, saw two-year-olds put on a speed show. A full report on the Meyersdale action will be sent out after the three-year-olds race there Friday. For more information, please see https://www.pafairsracing.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Ron Burke achieved his 16,000th career training victory earlier this week, and based on the action at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, he seems to want to get to 17,000 in the shortest amount of time possible.
 
During $237,566 of third round stakes action for the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series two-year-old pacing males, Burke sent out four of the winners, including both divisional Sire Stakes winners. One of the Sire Stakes winners in now perfect in three PaSS starts – and the other heat went faster, and Burke horses finished 1-2.
 
It may be a slight injustice to say that the Stay Hungry – Francessa colt Frantic Hanover, the triple PaSS winner (he won a PA All-Stars division in his only other career race), was the “slower” winner, because the fleet freshman was raced off the pace by Tim Tetrick in a race with a :58 clocking to the half. But Frantic Hanover made up the requisite ground late to win by three quarters of a length over Ain’tplayinnice in 1:52.1 – Frantic Yankee posted individual back numbers of :53.3 – :26, numbers more associated with free-for-allers over a mile track. Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc., and Brad Grant have a horse who has already earned the title of ”star,” having never come his last quarter as “slow” as :27, not even in his first qualifier – and no other PaSS horse in the group has been able to post even two victories.
 
The “faster” of the two Sire Stakes, 1:51.3, saw the Burke Brigade finish first and second, as the Papi Rob Hanover – Baron Remy colt Al Papi quarter-moved for driver Yannick Gingras, then continued on with relentless speed to also post a three quarter length margin, with stablemate Melillo slow to gain full clearance and flying in the stretch but just having too much ground to make up. Al Papi, who also has a PA All-Stars credit to his name and who lowered his mark with this victory, is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC along with partners J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby and Lawrence Karr.
 
Gingras also drove Burke’s two winners in the five division Stallion Series competition, including another winner who is undefeated in three PA program stakes start while the opposition has yet to achieve a double. That one is named Another C Note, a Captaintreacherous – Kate Can’t Wait colt, and he also posted the quickest StS time, a new mark of 1:52.1, dashing home in :55.4 - :27.3 after being parked three-eighths to get the lead and then holding it for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Let It Ride Stables Inc., and Scott Dillon to run his win streak to three.
 
The fourth Burke stakes winner and second in the PaStS was Loumelo Ball, a son of Sweet Lou (of whom his “instructor” could not be more proud) – Fashion Fluzzy, with the gelding breaking his maiden in 1:53.2 for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Libby And Purnel, and Lawrence Karr.
 
As noted, Captaintreacherous sired the fastest Stallion Series winner Another C Note, and “The Captain” added two more credits with colts in other Stallion Series events: with Treacherous Lou (dam Sweet Lacy Lou, a daughter of Sweet Lou), who lowered his mark to 1:53.3 for driver Eric Goodell and trainer Robert Cleary, and, on a day where no other stakes winner paid better than 3-1, with the $36.20 winner Secret Society (dam Drop The Ball), whom David Miller drove to a new speed badge of 1:54 for trainer Noel Daley.
 
The final Stallion Series winner was McHungry, an altered son of Stay Hungry – Mcgibson who broke his maiden in 1:53.3 for trainer Dan Altmeyer and driver/son-in-law Mike Wilder, speeding home in :27.2.
 
Burke added a fifth winner for the day in an overnight event, and jumped from joint twelfth to joint sixth in the local trainers derby in one card. As for the day’s top driver, Tim Tetrick (also the meet’s runaway top driver) may have won only one stakes race, but he won the majority of the overnight races on the program, visiting Victory Lane seven times in all on a profitable afternoon.
 
Racing will continue at Philly on Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Trainer Per Engblom, second in this year’s North American trainers statistics behind perennial runaway leader (and current Pocono leader) Ron Burke in both the wins and earnings column, has had the care of the Always A Virgin three-year-old colt Luxury Virgin entrusted to him for three starts, and the pacer scored his second victory for his new conditioner in the $14,000 pacing feature on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
Simon Allard was able to sit third with the sophomore as Heaven Needs Me set fractions of :27, :56.4, and 1:25.1, then moved him briskly into contention on the far turn and wound up winning by 1¼ lengths in 1:53.2, pacing his own back fractions in :56 - :27.4. Pacesetter Heaven Needs Me lasted for a dead-heat for second with hard-charging Summit Seelster behind the winner, who is owned by Evans Nation, Hickory Hollow Stables, FAC Racing LLC, and Joseph Di Scala Jr.
 
Pocono’s leading driver, Tyler Buter, brought home five first-place finishers on the card, giving him twelve tallies during this four-day racing week, eighteen in seven cards of Pocono competition in August, and 28 through the first twelve days of the month overall.
 
Next on tap at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania is the biggest card of the year this Saturday afternoon, the $2.3M Sun Stakes Saturday, featuring the first-ever showdown between super fillies Miki And Minnie and Chantilly, along with many of the other top three-year-olds and Invitational horses, several in the weekly Top Ten poll of harness racing’s superstars. There will also be four multi-race bets with guaranteed pools, including a $10,000 bounty ensured in the four top races for three-year-olds, and a carryover into the last race High 5 pool. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
​WASHINGTON PA – The Pennsylvania fair circuit commenced a very busy week with Fair Sire Stakes action on Sunday and Monday at the Washington County Fairgrounds, known as Arden Downs during its Grand Circuit heyday, in southwestern Pennsylvania, not far down the road from The Meadows.
 
On Sunday the Stay Hungry – Pueblo Blue Chip gelding Quill Gordon continued as the marquee horse among the freshmen, coming home first in 2:01.2. The fair season’s leader for his section and now a winner of three “A” races, Quill Gordon  was driven by Eric Neal for trainer Mitchell York, co-owner with Erin York.
 
A race earlier the Sweet Lou – Takara filly Vegas Queen, also her section’s fair season’s leader, recorded a fourth “A” win and a fourth straight victory overall, completing her mile in 2:04 for 19-year-old driver Jesse Barnard, in the sulky for trainer Neil Balcerak and owner George Prushnok.
 
Once again, the trotting fillies went faster than the trotting colts, this time seeing both their sections beat out the faster trot for colts and geldings. Speediest of all the freshmen diamondgaiters was Pa Patricia, a Father Patrick – Tymal Lux filly who reported home first in 2:05.2 for driver Chris Shaw, trainer Ashley Brown, and the ownership of Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw.
 
The very first horse to cross the wire on Monday’s card for three-year-olds was Bettor Not, a Captain Crunch colt who kept his record perfect at the fairs with his seventh win, high among all the horses. A four-time 2:00 winner over the twicearounds this year, Bettor Not turned in the fastest mile of the meet at 2:00.2 for driver Tony Schadel, trainer Todd Schadel, and the ownership of Todd and Christine Schadel.
 
Just a tick off Bettor Not’s clocking was the Tall Dark Stranger filly Skepticism, winning for the second straight fair stop after producing Honesdale’s fastest meet clocking of 1:59.3. Eric Neal steered the formful filly for trainer Tom Loughry Jr. and owner Geraldine Poerio. This sector’s other “A” winner was the Always B Miki miss Milagro, 2024 champion and authoress of a 1:55.2 mile at Hughesville for fastest mile on the circuit this season, who bounced back after having a five-race win streak broken in her last outing by posting a 2:02.2 tally for co-owner/driver Tony and co-owner/trainer Linda Schadel.
 
The colts and fillies were also separated by only a tick on the trotting side as well, with the Todd Schadel barn sending out both fast diamondgaiters. Top honors were achieved by the Bar Hopping gelding Set The Bar, winning at the fairs for the fifth time, here with a 2:03.1 clocking for trainer-driver Schadel, co-owner with his wife Christine and Rick and Regina Beinhauer. Set The Bar is the fastest trotter at the fairs with his 1:58.4 all-age track record at Hughesville.
 
The 2:03.2 trotting filly winner was the International Moni distaff Tally The Tab, who also posted a fifth fair victory, and who is owned by Todd and Christine.
 
Close readers of this report have an inkling of what is coming in reporting the leading drivers and trainer at Washington. Three sulkysitters each crossed the wire first six times in the two days of racing – Eric Neal, along with Todd and Tony Schadel. On the training side, Todd Schadel’s seven winners from his shedrow earned the Washington crown.
 
By the time you read this story, the races for the next Circuit stop, at the Dayton Fair on Wednesday and Thursday, will have been drawn; the Dayton races will begin at noon on both days. Thursday and Friday will see the Somerset County Fair in Meyersdale hosting the trotters and pacers, while Saturday and Sunday will end the eventful week with racing at the Crawford County Fair in Meadville. More information can be obtained at https://pafairsracing.org/.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – As formful as the proceedings were at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Sunday evening (eight out of ten favorites winning), they were equally as bizarre on Monday afternoon, topped by the $25,000 fast-class pace for distaffs, where 43-1 shot Take Your Pick caught 65-1 proposition Turn On The Charm in 1:51.
 
Rocket Deo, the odds-on favorite after winning twice in this class, was assigned the outside post eight, and she had to work very hard to get to the top beyond a :26 quarter; she then backed the half off to :55.2. Turn On The Charm came roaring up uncovered from midpack, pacing her own third split in :27.1 to reach contention by the 1:23.2 three quarters, and in the battle late on the turn into the stretch, it was the longshot who went in front. Take Your Pick was able to slip out behind the winner and followed her cover, then charged midtrack and was just up by a neck, with two others within a half length at the finish (and Rocket Deo holding OK after that blistering opener; “beaten two lengths” sounds better than “seventh”).
 
Take Your Pick was one of three winners on the day for meet-leading driver Tyler Buter; the JK Endofanera mare is trained by Jeff Cullipher for Pollack Racing LLC.
 
The favorite did take the $15,500 co-featured pace, with the Always B Miki gelding Laugh Shop making it three wins in his last four starts. He reduced his mark to 1:49.3 in an engine win for trainer Jill Wine and the partnership of Samuel Abdoo and Wine Stable. But 9-1 shot Imgoingtojackson was eating into his lead late, and Laugh Shop had to produce identical back splits of :27.1 to prevail by a half length.
 
George Napolitano Jr., the all-time leading driver at Pocono and second to Buter at this year’s meet, took honors for the day with four visits to the winners circle.
 
Given that eight favorites won Sunday, while eight winners on Monday paid $10.00 or more, it is not surprising that there will be a carryover into the first race Pick 4 pool and the fourth race Pick 3 pool for Tuesday’s card, which begins at 1 p.m. The next program after that will be the outstanding $2.3M Sun Stakes Saturday supercard, which is featured in detail in a separate release. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.