By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Why were Tuesday’s feature races at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania named the Winter Is Coming Trotting Series? Well, the day’s races at the mountain oval began at 30 degrees and had stiff winds, the mercury got all the way up to the freezing mark during the length of the afternoon, and there were snow flurries at times. The track variant was rated “+2” the entire day.
 
Nonetheless, there was excellent trotting action spotlighted on the program, with the second and final preliminary round of the Winter Is Coming Series split into two $12,500 divisions. Establishing himself as a strong contender for next Tuesday’s $20,000 series Championship was the Andover Hall gelding One After Nine, who was the only horse to win both of his prelims, here in 1:56.4 on the front end by 2½ lengths over another winner from last week, Tuis Angel. Jim Pantaleano guided the successful trotter (he’s now won, in addition to two straight, three of his last five) for trainer Bucky Angle and owners Howard and Joshua Kauffman.
 
The other “WIC” Series winner Tuesday was Sainthood, who appeared to need a miracle racing on the far turn after being rimmed the whole way, uncovered from past the three-eighths, but the altered son of International Moni was very brave and continued on to a 1:57 victory, 1½ lengths ahead of Doc Nixon, who was last at the three-quarters and passed many horses late while out wide. Sainthood, second in the first leg, will also have his backers in the Championship after this tenacious victory for driver Simon Allard, trainer Joe Pavia Jr., and Bay Pond Racing Stable.
 
The top purse of the day, $15,500, offered for horses looking to climb the classladder, went to the  pacesetting Cantab Hall gelding Soncando in 1:58.1 for trainer David Hoover and owner Jaypaul Hanover after entering the race with a 22-0-7-6 seasonal scorecard. Soncando was driven by George Napolitano Jr., who won five times on the day, thrice for trainer Robert Belcher. That’s fifteen wins in six November cards at Pocono, by George!
 
Racing at Pocono resumes Saturday with a 1 p.m. first post and a carryover into the last race High 5 wager. Cards on Monday, Tuesday, and the following Saturday will ring down the curtain on the 2025 season at Pocono. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The second and final preliminary of the Winter Is Coming Pacing Series was held Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, and the series name told the tale of the weather – temperatures barely above freezing and a strong wind, mostly against backstretch movers.
 
With only two prelims and no repeat winners, director of racing Rick Kane will be carefully checking the standings, based on finishes and starts, to see who makes next Monday’s $20,000 Winter Is Coming Pacing Championship.
 
Two first-time series starters provided the two fastest wins. Quickest of all Monday was the Boston Red Rocks gelding Boston Rocks, a career winner of $618,644 who was extended to turn back the late charge of Big Bang Bang by a head in 1:52.2, with twin panels of :27.4 coming home. Jim Pantaleano drove Boston Rocks to the victory for trainer Mike Deters and the ownership of Rick Berks and Peter Blood.
 
Also new to the series, and a closer after the front part of the card had a big speed bias, was the Always B Miki gelding Building Boost, who barreled home from sixth at the three-quarters to overhaul pacesetting Pompeo Hanover by 1¼ lengths in 1:53.1. Anthony Napolitano drove the 11-1 shot to victory for trainer Jake Guff and owners Rosie Huff and Beauty Bridle Racing Stable Inc.
 
No horse or trainer had a win in both weeks of the series preliminaries, and only George Napolitano Jr. among the drivers paraded back to Victory Lane as a winner both weeks. Monday he did so with the Betting Line gelding Boardwalk Bet, fourth though beaten only half a length in the first round; here the horse went to the lead at the half, withstood a big challenge from Petrol Queen, and finally won by two lengths over that rival in 1:54 for trainer Eddie Sager (the only doubling conditioner on the day) and owners Gary Weidelman and Howard Taylor.
 
Top purse of the day, $15,500, went to developing trotters, a race taken by the Walner sophomore gelding Don’t Ask For More in 1:57.2 to make it three straight. But Don’t Ask For More, co-owned by trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt as Åke Svanstedt Inc. in partnership with Nils Munkhaugen and Barry and Michael Carter, did have to have more asked of him as he set the pace, for Global Twist came out of the pocket and gained inch by inch in the lane, only to come up a nose shy.
 
 The Napolitano brothers, George Jr. and Anthony, second and third respectively in victories at the meet, drove three winners; doubling in the sulky were meet leader Tyler Buter and Braxten Boyd.
 
The Winter Is Coming Trotting Series will conduct its second round on Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card. The $20,000 Winter Is Coming Series Championships on their respective gaits will be conducted on Monday-Tuesday the 17th-18th on 1 p.m. programs; those Championship cards will be bracketed by 1 p.m. racing on Saturday the 15th and the 22nd, the latter the last card of the 2025 season at Pocono. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Per Engblom, whose stable has sent out the second-most winners in North America this season (behind Ron Burke),  had the 1-2 finishers in the $12,000 featured pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, as Tonto Returns defeated Beanzy Fresh in a new lifetime mark of 1:53.2.
 
Tonto Returns, a three-year-old Fort Knox gelding who has now won three in a row, had the lead at the :27.3 quarter then yielded to his stablemate, who got a breather to the half in :57.3 with “Tonto” right behind. Goodbye Stranger made a powerful backstretch challenge to and past the 1:25.1 three quarters, but his bid tapered off, and through the stretch the big battle was between the two barnmates, with Tonto Returns coming up the inside to win by three-quarters of a length for driver Simon Allard and the partnership of Evans Nation, Engblom Stable LLC, and Hickory Hollow Stables.
 
Allard had a second winner for Engblom, the only trainer to double Sunday, and he completed a personal three-bagger (to bring him to 15-for-46 in the last six Philly cards) with the $884,206 winner of 64 races, the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding Lyons Steel. If there were a dictionary definition of the term “horses for courses,” Lyons Steel’s picture would be next to the definition, as he won for the third time in his last four starts at the southeast Pennsylvania, on Sunday following the “Tonto Returns method”: sitting in the pocket, then rallying near the pylons for a three-quarter length victory. Second here was Divine Right, who went a huge race in the 1:51.2 mile, but Lyons Steel continued his local love affair for trainer Jose Ramos and owner BD Racing (and somewhere Dennis Watson was smiling).
 
The top-priced claimers on the grounds contested an $11,000 pace, which was taken by the Heston Blue Chip gelding Blowin Smoke by a neck over DP Realordeal in 1:51.4 for driver Troy Beyer. Blowin Smoke was haltered by owner Mark Jakubik for $12,500 on September 14 and entrusted to trainer Darren Taneyhill, and since then his scorecard has been 7-3-1-2-1, good for $22,280 in purses.
 
Racing resumes at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon at 12:25 p.m. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The temperature was only slightly warmer than recently on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, but many of the times were noticeably quicker, led by the 1:49 posted by Oakwood Heymiki IR in the $17,500 pacing side of the feature class for developing horses.
 
The altered son of Always B Miki gave his many backers a bit of a scare last week when he went offstride near the wire, but did not violate the rules so was left up. This week Tyler Buter quarter-moved from fourth with the fleet import and there was no bobble at all, just a pair of :27.1 back quarters that left the winner of three of his last four 6¾ lengths clear under the line for trainer Bob Cleary and Royal Wire Products Inc and with a new lifetime mile record.
 
The trotting co-feature went to the Lionhunter gelding Kovu AS, only one for 33 on the year coming into the race but dead game on the engine today to ward off potential pocket rocket Chuckthemillionair by a neck in a lifetime best 1:55. Kovu AS was driven by Anthony Napolitano for trainer Anthony Faulkner and owner Jaypaul Hoover.
 
Another sub-1:50 mile was rung up in the $16,000 claiming handicap pace by the Courtly Choice ridgling Spring Blake, victorious in four of his last six and here earning a new speed badge of 1:49.1. Tyler Buter again drove a far-clear winner (6¼ lengths) for trainer Cory Stratton and owner Caldwell Marnie Racing LLC – who had just claimed the horse for $37,500 last week and just as quickly lost him back to a claim. Spring Blake was one of three winners changing hands after their race on a day when there were seven claims in all, for $152,500 (the meet figures are 378 claims for $7,625,625).
 
There were two $13,500 fast-class contests, one on each gait, and following recent trends there was a big upset winner in them both. The Bar Hopping gelding Showman Hanover could save his move for late in the mile, then finished with a burst to nose out favored Kinnder Thinktwice while taking a lifetime mark of 1:53 and paying $94.40. Jordan Stratton had the drive for trainer Richard Aiken and Arden Homestead Stable.
 
The fast-class pace was the last race on the card, and in a dramatic finish the Sweet Lou gelding Dream Bird came from last at the stretch call to catch the chalk I Did It Myway in 1:51.4 for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Knox Services Inc., David Wills, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby. Dream Bird had no wins but seven seconds this year before his upset, which helps to explain the $120.60 win price.
 
The following two facts, however, help that explanation in no way, for Dream Bird was driven by the meet’s leading driver, Tyler Buter, and is trained by the meet’s leading trainer, Ron Burke. Buter and Burke are the only horsemen to have two $100+ winners this meet, as they combined as well with The Bizzness N ($112.40) on October 21. Burke is also the only conditioner to have four $50+ bombers at Pocono this year. (Yes, the same guy who broke the one-season money record for a barn on Thursday.)
 
With Dream Bird’s upset coming in the final event, there will be a carryover – now a double carryover – into Monday’s last race High 5 pool. Monday at Pocono will also feature three divisions of the Winter Is Coming Pacing Series. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Prince Hal Hanover and Twisted Destiny, two Pennsylvania-sired sophomore colts who have been racing against Louprint and the very best of the state’s pacing “glamour division” since May, are still going strong in November, winning divisions of their Liberty Bell Stakes on Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia on a chilly day with a strong stretch headwind.
 
Twisted Destiny had the fastest clocking of the three $30,000 sections for the section, winning in 1:51.1 for driver Dexter Dunn, trainer Chris Ryder, and Let It Ride Stable Inc., Alberg Racing LLC, Enviro Stables LTD, and Jesmeral Stable. The Bettor’s Wish colt took over soon past the quarter, then came home in :55.2 to withstand a resilient TH Colby by a half a length while boosting his seasonal earnings to $402,986.
 
The Captaintreacherous colt Prince Hal Hanover, who has amassed $818,912 in 2025 and $1,105,933 in his two seasons of racing, took the lead in front of the stands in his division, then powered home in :27 into the brisk headwind to complete a 1:51.4 success, open lengths ahead. Todd McCarthy had the steer for trainer Dr. Ian Moore and the Prince Hal Hanover Stable.
 
The third winner in this group, the Papi Rob Hanover colt Beach Club Monty, seems to be in career form right about now, making every pole a winning one in a 1:52.4 triumph, 1¾ lengths ahead of a strong-closing Captain Luffy. Jack Pelling drove the three-year-old for trainer-father Brett Pelling and the partnership of South Merrick Stables and Andrew Berg.
 
There were also two $30,000 divisions of the Liberty Bell stakes for sophomore trotting males. Both winners won easily, as befits a pair of 1-5 shots: Lefties Righties was the quicker in 1:54, the Greenshoe gelding triumphing for driver Tim Tetrick, trainer Jeff Cullipher, and Pollack Racing LLC, while Dexter Dunn added a trotting stakes win to his aforementioned pacing triumph as the pilot of the Bar Hopping gelding Cheers Hanover, who came home in :27.4 to finish the mile in 1:55 for the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, James Simpson, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.
 
A special tip of the gray and yellow cap should go out to Cheers Hanover’s trainer, Ron Burke: the day before, Burke had surpassed his own single-season moneyearning record as a trainer, ending that day with his barn having amassed $28.5 million – with 55 days of racing left in the year! Burke had established the old mark in 2014; not out of question is his one-year record of 1156 wins set in 2023, as he had 988 going into Friday.
 
The action-packed Philly card also saw the first preliminary round of a series for $10,000 claimers put together by Racing Secretary Rob Pennington and his crew; there will be three prelim rounds at $8000 a division leading up to a $12,500 Championship on November 30, and claiming is allowed. In fact, there were two horses claimed out of the first round, and both were winners: Rose Run Zeke (the fastest at 1:53.1) and Allegiance (1:55.3). Also winning their first prelims were Kootenay Santanna (1:54.2), Stretch The Line (1:54.1) and Olive And A Twist (1:54.4).
 
Meet leader Tim Tetrick drove the two last-named series winners, and he combined them with his stakes win and an overnight triumph to be top pilot on the day with four victories.
 
Racing at Philly returns at 12:40 on Sunday, with Tonto Returns returning to seek his third straight win in the featured pace. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha,.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Liberty Bell Stakes series continued $120,400 strong on Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with two-year-old fillies, two divisions on the trot and one on the pace, having to work in cool temperatures and battling both each other and a strong stretch headwind.
 
Yannick Gingras once again showed why he is a Hall of Fame driver with a nerveless steer behind Sandyboots Yankee in winning the first of the two Liberty Bell pacing divisions. JK Sassy Lady crossed over to the top in the field of five; Sandyboots Hanover just inside her was looped, three-wide and forced to take back to last. The four in front of her paired up two and two down the back and through the final turn; Gingras chose to put the daughter of Always B Miki – A Beach Cowgirl in a blindswitch when the second-over tipped wide, which left her last at the stretch call.
 
When that one couldn’t keep up into the lane, Gingras shot the Ron Burke trainee into that emerging space and came along well to win in 1:53.4 by three quarters of a length over JK Sassy Lady while restoring a regular breathing pattern to her 2-5 backers. Sandyboots Yankee, another Simpson-Liberty Bell doubler, won for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Lawrence Karr, and Phil Collura.
 
Gingras and Burke came right back in the second Liberty Bell pace, this time with the Tall Dark Stranger – Apple Bottom Jeans miss With The Fur as she broke her maiden in 1:54.3. With The Fur, an 8-1 shot, had a cushy ride in the three-hole, moved out on the turn, and left the field well behind her as she made her first win a stakes success for owner Howard Taylor.
 
The lone Liberty Bell event for trotters saw Berry Good News, who in her last start had made an early break but still came back to miss just a neck to Sister Wine, reverse that decision today in 1:56.3. The victorious daughter of Greenshoe – Poof She’s Gone barreled away strongly and put Sister Wine in behind her, set the pace, then had enough left to hold off that game rival, this week’s margin a head. There was a “Tyler” Exacta in this race, as driver Buter beat driver Miller, with the winner trained by Nifty Norman for Melvin Hartman and David Mc Duffee.
 
There were two trotting features for the overnight set, and both were won by driver Johnathan Ahle.  A $13,500 contest for up-and-coming horses went to the International Moni sophomore miss Moni Buys Happiness, who had a rough trip including a long first-over battle, yet despite 47 days off dug down to beat out the favored second-over Manoah by a neck in 1:55.2. Richard Hans, always to remembered for his hand in Googoo Gaagaa, is the trainer and owner of the winner of four out of seven starts after not racing at two.
 
The International Moni gelding Khaosan Road proved a half length better than pacesetting millionaire favorite Chapercraz in a classic stretch duel to take the $13,000 fast-class feature in 1:53.3. Ahle sent Khaosan Road frontward early then yielded to sit on the back of the chalk, vacated the golden chair midturn, and had to go all he could to defeat the stubborn leader while running his earnings to $493,056 for trainer Åke Svanstedt and the partnership of Knutsson Trotting Inc. and Little E LLC.
 
Driver Simon Allard had a driving triple, two of them for trainer Per Engblom. Driving doubles were recorded by Johnathan Ahle (the two fast-class features), Yannick Gingras (the two Burke stakes horses), Tyler Miller, and Jack Pelling; in addition to Burke and Engblom (1-2 in North America in wins), Jenny Melander trained two winners on the Thursday card.
 
The Friday 12:25 program marks the end of the 2025 run of the Liberty Bell stakes Series at the southeast Pennsylvania oval, with the “glamour boys,” the three-year-old males, in action – three divisions for pacers, with such nationally-known names as Prince Hal Hanover and Twisted Destiny, and two sections for trotters. Friday also marks the start of a claiming series for horse valued at $10,000, with five divisions in this first leg; the best from three preliminary legs will come back to contest a $12,500 Championship on November 30. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Winter Is Coming Series for trotters had its first preliminary Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, and if the times of the winners of the three $12,500 divisions mean anything – 1:55.3, 1:55.4, 1:55.4 – there should be some excellent competitive trotting on tap right up through the $20,000 Championship on November 18, the penultimate card of the year at the northeast Pennsylvania track.
 
The fastest mile of the opening leg of the series (by the slimmest margin possible, as above) went to the Andover Hall mare Tuis Angel, who like many Tuesday (Tuis-day?) winners went out to early command and never surrendered the lead in the 1:55.3 victory. Braxten Boyd guided Tuis Angel to victory for trainer David Wiest, who is a co-owner with Pamela Kimmel and James Rappold.
 
Boyd posted another Winter Is Coming victory with the Muscle Mass gelding Jacked, who was parked past the quarter for the front end and then maintained that position to the finish, winning by a length over determined first-over challenger and favorite Sainthood. Tee Wine conditions the winner, who took a new mark with the 1:55.4 victory for Wine Stable and Michael Holland.
 
Also a 1:55.4 winner, and also controlling the pace en route to Victory Lane, was the Andover Hall gelding One After Nine, who won by over five lengths. Jim Pantaleano drove the winner, who eclipsed the quarter million dollar total with the win, for trainer Bucky Angle and owners Howard and Joshua Kauffman.
 
The richest race of the day, a $15,500 trot for developing horses, also went in 1:55.4, and emerging victorious was the Green Manilishi S sophomore gelding Wendell Blue Chip, winning for trainer Jared Bako and the partnership of Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc. and Daniel Zucker. Atypically for the day, driver Colin Kelly was successful with off-the-pace tactics, beating out favored Rothko by three quarters of a length.
 
Kelly, who began campaigning semi-regularly at Pocono mid-season, was the only winning driver Tuesday who isn’t among the track’s eight winningest drivers, and the only one who had a single win. Braxten Boyd and Anthony Napolitano had three wins, and meet leader Tyler Buter, George Napolitano Jr., and Jim Panatleano each won twice on the 13-race card.
 
Racing at Pocono resumes on Saturday at 1 p.m., the seventh-to-last card of the 2025 season, with strong groupings of many divisions of top overnight horses; there will also be a carryover into the last race High 5 wager. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – With the number of days left in the 2025 racing season at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania down to single numbers, Director of Racing Rick Kane has devised a two-legs-and-a-Championship series for both trotters and pacers called the “Winter Is Coming” Series to create year-end extra excitement, and on Monday the pacers contested two $12,500 opening round prelims.
 
The excitement factor was evident in the faster of the day’s two Winter Is Coming cuts, as the Betterthancheddar gelding Agedchedar Hanover (note that deliberate spelling) closed from third-over to win in a four-horse blanket finish in 1:52.4. The winner came home in :28.1 against the wind to defeat Points North by a head for trainer Jake Leamon and owner Dona McDonald.
 
The other section went to the only three-year-old to enter in the first leg prelim, the Cattlewash gelding Expedited Service, and the sophomore might turn out to be the horse to beat in the series. Though his mile was clocked in 1:54.3, Expedited Service went his third quarter in :26.4 with the wind to easily clear from first-over and drew off to a 4½ length victory for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Richard Johnson, and owner Guy Gemore.
 
Top purse of the card was the $15,500 offered for developing trotters, with the stakes sophomore filly Margareta Hanover taking command in front of the stands the first time and then posting a new mark of 1:55.4 in winning by open distance. Mattias handled the Maharajah filly for trainer-brother Marcus (who was at the opening day of the Harrisburg Sale) and, appropriately given that reference, owners Hanover Shoe Farms Inc.
 
Anthony Napolitano led the driving colony with three winners; Braxten Boyd, meet leader Tyler Buter, James Kennedy, and George Napolitano Jr. each had two. “Anthony Nap” earned another distinction by guiding $66.40 winner Costa Diva, giving him a meet-leading eleven “bombers” brought home at Pocono this year. Double Up N also got in the longshot fun by paying $56.40 under Kevin Wallis’s guidance in the first race (only the second “bomber” to open the card among Pocono’s 52 $50+ winners this meet, which includes seven in the last seven cards).
 
The Winter Is Coming Series will find three $12,500 divisions of the first round for trotters highlighted on the 1 p.m. Pocono card on Tuesday. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The leading driver at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, Tyler Buter, won half of Saturday’s fourteen races at the northeast Pennsylvania oval, including both features – one routinely (if a 12-1 win is ever routine) and the one after surviving an inquiry dealing with a late miscue. His seven-bagger matched one posted by Jason Bartlett as the most productive days at Pocono in 2025.
 
The feature races were a pair of $17,500 contests for horses on the improve, one each at their respective gaits. The Southwind Frank trotting gelding Credit To Frank won his race with a masterful drive by Buter, equaling his mark of 1:56. Kept off a flurry of early- to mid-race lead changes, Credit To Frank got in a good backstretch flow, swept to the lead into the stretch, and won over favored Kovu As, who had been first at the quarter – and last at the stretch call. Ron Burke conditions Credit To Frank for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
 
In the pacing feature, Oakwood Heymiki IR ran his lifetime record to 19 for 40, but he had to survivie the blinking red neon before this 1:51.4 victory was official.  Buter moved the heavy favorite to the lead early, strung out the field, and appeared to be on his way to an impressive but uneventful victory when he suddenly lost gait within 50 yards of the wire. The judges gave the video a hard look but deemed no rule violation, so Oakwood Heymiki IR (who did suffer “b.e.” in the incident) kept the victory for trainer Robert Cleary and the ownership of Royal Wire Products Inc. – who purchased the horse the day before the draw.
 
There was a pair of $16,000 claiming handicap paces for the local horses carrying in the highest tags. In one, Spring Blake won for the third time in his last five starts (he lost photos in the other two), sitting in the two-hole behind a contested pace, then pulling out on the far turn and racing away to a 1:51.2 triumph for Buter. The Courtly Choice ridgling had been claimed for $37,500 by Carmen Iannacone two starts ago and given over to trainer Hunter Oakes; Spring Blake was again claimed for that amount Saturday after having won $12,000 in two starts for his now-former connections.
 
In the other claiming cut, the Western Vintage gelding Elite Machine, after drawing the two worst posts at Pocono in his last two starts, started from the track’s leading post five and never looked back, recording a new mark of 1:51.4 for owner Todd Rosenberg. George Napolitano Jr., who was the only sulkysitting feature winner besides Buter, also was the only other driving doubler, both for Elite Machine’s trainer Bob Belcher.
 
In a $15,000 fast-class pace, the Captaintreacherous gelding Maxim Hanover was ready for a maximum effort in his second start after nearly three months away, grinding up uncovered after a fast pace and still being able to draw clear in 1:50.2, only a tick off his mark on the cool day. Buter had the drive for trainer Robert Cleary and Royal Wire Products Inc.
 
One characteristic of a smart trainer is that they use hot drivers, and all of Buter’s seven wins came from barns ranking in Pocono’s top seven: meet leader Ron Burke (three), Robert Cleary (two), and Dean Eckley and Hunter Oakes (one each). And sometimes top trainers and drivers return good prices: three of Buter’s septet were favorites, but the others paid $12.20, $13.40, $26.40, and $46.00.
 
And speaking of longshots: After four straight Pocono cards with $50+ winners, there was no “bomber” winning on this past Tuesday’s card, but the longshot brigade came back to life when Rose Run Astro went first-over against an odds-on pacesetter, put him away on the far turn, then held off Puzzling for driver Braxten Boyd at a $54.20 mutuel. “Astro” was the 50th winner paying $50 or more at Pocono in 2025, and Boyd’s seventh, trailing only Anthony Napolitano (ten).
 
There will be 1 p.m. racing at Pocono on Monday and Tuesday, and both cards will feature first round action in the new Winter Is Coming Series, a pop-up event which will go in two $12,500 divisions for pacers on Monday and three $12,500 cuts for trotters on Tuesday. There will also be a carryover into Monday’s fifth race Pick 5 Wager. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Liberty Bell Stakes series continued on Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with three-year-old fillies on both gaits contesting a pair of $30,000 divisions.
 
The “Ahle- Åke Show,” driver Johnathan Ahle and trainer Åke Svanstedt, had a big day here on Thursday and continued on that success with the faster of the trotting winners, the Southwind Frank miss Hangover. She followed up a win in Pocono’s Simpson Stakes with a Liberty Bell engine win by 2¾ lengths in 1:54.1. The co-owners of the victress are Åke Svanstedt Inc., Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing, Little E LLC, and Rivers Stable Inc.
 
The other trotting winner, the Bar Hopping filly Bay Breeze Hanover, was the only one of the day’s four stakes success stories who wasn’t coming off a Simpson win (she was second to Hangover at Pocono), but bounced back to winning ways by taking a new mark of 1:54.2. A strong stretch headwind was a big factor on the day, but nevertheless this race had three across the wire, with Bay Breeze Hanover shooting the inside to defeat first-over Payback Moni by three quarters of a length, with pacesetter Shes A Shoe In another neck back in third. Andrew McCarthy handled the winner for trainer Michael Seddon and owner Nick Shaw.
 
The Bettor’s Wish filly Time Of The Season and driver McCarthy saw a lot of early racetrack – she was four-wide, three-wide, two-wide, and finally one-wide and on top at the quarter -- but she came home in :55.3 to be a clear winner in 1:52.1 in the faster pacing segment. Tim Twaddle conditions the winner of three of her last four for Birnam Wood Farms.
 
Papi Rob Hanover, who sired both pacing winners Thursday, added another credit when his Gigglingonthebeach finished off a Liberty Bell-Simpson-Lynch Consolation I triple within her last four starts, going through the headwind in :27.3 after a pocket journey in a 1:52.2 mile. Asphalt, the pacesetter, was three parts of a length off the winner, who was driven by George Napolitano Jr. for trainer Juan Cano and Hot Lead Farm.
 
Mark Herschberger had three wins on the day; Andrew McCarthy had a stakes double as noted. Also with two wins were the pairing of driver Kyle DiBenedetto and trainer Bo Sowers, both newly-arrived from Monticello.
 
Sunday’s card at 12:40 will close out the Philly racing week; there will be Liberty Bell stakes action on both next Thursday and Friday. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.