By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The American Ideal gelding Casual Cool was used hard to control the pace, then was able to keep going and held off the lightning late burst of Hemsworth N to win the $19,000 pacing feature Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
Casual Cool was involved in a heated :26.4 battle for the lead, letting foes go only to reclaim the top before the :56.2 midpoint. He and driver Eric Goodell passed the three-quarters in 1:24.2 and looked to be in good position, but Hemsworth N, undefeated in three previous U.S. and still sixth at the three-quarters, soared four-wide in the lane and furiously chopped into the margin in the 1:52.2 mile, coming up a head shy.
 
Casual Cool, making his second start of the year, last won in 1:50 at Pocono on October 22; for driver Goodell, the distance between Victory Lane visits was even longer, as the winner of 5853 career races did not compete in 2022 and last tallied on September 17, 2021 at The Meadows. The pair showed themselves sharp in the feature, with the Daniel Renaud trainee, owned by Dune Road Stables LLC, boosting his lifetime bankroll to $595,070.
 
There were also three divisions of a $17,000 event for horses ready to step into the upper levels of class competition. In the section for trotters, Share The Wealth took a new lifetime mark of 1:54.2, clearing early pacesetter Torrone nearing the half then withstanding that rival late by 2 1/4 lengths. The son of Muscle Hill was driven by Matt Kakaley for trainer Hunter Oakes and Elite Harness Racing LLC.
 
There were two divisions of the subfeature for pacing males. The American Ideal gelding American Classic proved himself a game winner in his cut, traveling first-over for driven Braxten Boyd, yet still persevering to be 1¼ lengths ahead of Pocono Piker Something Bettor A in 1:53.2. Mark Silva conditions the winner, who triumphed in his third seasonal start, for owners Daniel and Jean Christophe Plouffe.
 
In the other pace, Stonebridge Reef, a son of Somebeachsomewhere, got the lead early and loafed to the half in :58, then sprinted home in :54.4 to complete a 1:52.4 package a neck to the good of pocketsitter Phoenix Of Fluzzy. Jim Morrill Jr. drove the winner for trainer Chris Ryder, who is also co-owner along with Craig Henderson, Oompa’s Farm Inc., and Robert Mondillo.
 
Matt Kakaley, 2022’s winningest driver at Pocono, also has the lead this season after guiding four winners on Saturday; two of them came for trainer Travis Alexander, who’s atop the trainer standings early in the meet.
 
A division of Saturday’s co-featured class, also racing for $17,000 and restricted to distaffs, will be the feature of Pocono’s Sunday afternoon card, which will begin at 1 p.m. Program pages for all Pocono races are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – A trio of $15,000 races for oncoming “nw 4 races lifetime” horses topped the Sunday afternoon card at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Sun Pennsylvania, with the mountain temperatures very non-winterish at about 50 degrees all day.
 
Most impressive in victory was the Whataworkout gelding Cantstop Yankee, who went a huge mile to lower his mark to 1:54.3 in the headline trotting division. Tyler Buter did not back off despite being caught three-wide early, with Cantstop Yankee taking over just past the :28.1 quarter and posting midsplits of :57.2 and 1:25.2, then leaving Dover Dan (his nearest opposition after several lost stride and/or were bothered) thirteen lengths behind under a hold. The Deborah Daguet trainee, sharp in a qualifier earlier in the week after being away for almost three months, showed he may be able to handle better right now for owner Kapildeo Singh.
 
Also posting a lifetime best was the Always B Miki gelding Always Better, who defeated a good field of pacing males in 1:52. C-Bet Hanover made the early top and refused to yield in fractions of :27.3, :56.3, and 1:23.4; Always Better decided to race in the pocket for driver Matt Kakaley, then had room up the inside in the lane and paced by the pacesetter by 1½ lengths. Travis Alexander conditions the fast winner for Lucid Racing.
 
The filly and mare pacing feature saw the Artspeak mare Speak Your Mind settle into the two-hole behind pacesetter Fear Her Touch, then use a back half of :56.1 to go past that one to an easy 2¾ length victory in 1:55.3. Marcus Miller drove the winner for trainer Ivan Llopez and owners Michael Calderone and Frank Cannon.
 
Tyler Buter and Anthony Napolitano each visited Victory Lane three times during the Sunday card.
 
The Downs will have another Saturday – Sunday schedule this coming week, both cards starting at 1 p.m. Program pages for all Pocono races are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Pocono Downs at Mohegan Sun Pennsylvania began its 2023 racing season on Saturday under seasonably nice conditions – temperatures above freezing, with no precipitation.
 
A pair of $17,000 events for developing horses were the top races on the inaugural card. In the division for pacers, Mind Hunter kept his record unblemished under the tutelage of trainer Per Engblom, winning his fifth straight race for Morrison Racing Stables. The Captaintreacherous gelding used engine tactics for driver George Napolitano Jr., racing gamely with  a :55.2 last half to hold off threatening two-holer Phoenix Of Fluzzy, coming up the inside, by a neck in a 1:52.3 mile.
 
In the trotting feature, the Walner gelding El Toro Loco set the pace with consistent speed, going both halves in :58 to complete a 1¾ length tally in 1:56. Tyler Buter drove the state stakes graduate for trainer Tom Loughry Jr. and Lone Wolf Stable.

Matt Kakaley and George Napolitano Jr., 1-2 in the driving standings at the mountain oval in 2022, came out hot for the local 2023 season , garnering three victories each.
 
The very first horse to post parade at Pocono in 2023, Paternity Suit A, finished second behind Mac’s Marvel, who was the biggest price of the chalky day at $9.40. Paternity Suit A’s co-owner, Tim Bojarski, got an even nicer bit of news later in the afternoon, when during the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s directors meeting in Florida he was put on the summer election ballot for the Communicators Hall Of Fame.
 
The Downs will be right back in action on Sunday afternoon, with three $15,000 features headlining a 15-race card starting at 1 p.m. Program pages for all Pocono races are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Colossal Stride A, who went uncovered against fellow Aussie Pat McGarry A in the Philly feature last week and had to settle for second to that one, saw his rival get used harder to set the pace on Sunday, and this time the Bettor’s Delight gelding kept going after another raw journey to catch his rival this week at the end of a 1:51.2 mile.
 
Pat McGarry A had to pay a :26 price to make the lead this week; he did get to back off the half to :55.3, but then had to pick it up to the 1:22.4 three-quarters as Colossal Stride A and driver Andrew McCarthy steadily advanced through the backstretch and around the turn. In the stretch Colossal Stride A had plenty left in the tank and went by Pat McGarry A by 1¾ lengths. Candace Brandstatter trains the winner of $246,472 for Royal Rock Racing LLC.
 
Another son of Bettor’s Delight, The Wild Card, let Bettor Not Talk go around him early in order to sit a pocket trip, then came out and overhauled that determined foe by a head to take the $16,200 co-featured pace in 1:52. The Yonkers shipper, a winner of $293,249, was driven by Simon Allard for trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
 
The top pacing contest for developing horses, which went for $15,300, saw Stonebridge Karis continue his excellent form run since being claimed on August 30 by owner Eric Provost and trainer Darren Taneyhill, getting a two-hole trip and a clear path to the wire to win for driver Tim Tetrick in 1:53.2. The sophomore Sweet Lou gelding has posted a record of 16-7-5-1 and has earned in excess of $62,000 since joining Team Prevost/Taneyhill.
 
Unless the Racing Office programs 18 races a card for the remaining four days of the season, Tim Tetrick has mathematically clinched his eighth Harrah’s driving crown, with his six winners today bringing him to 251 for the meet, 71 ahead of second-place Simon Allard.
 
For the final two weeks of the 2022 racing season, and indeed 2022 itself, Harrah’s Philadelphia will feature live racing on Friday and Saturday afternoon. This week, the trotters and pacers will go to the gate at 12:25 on Friday the 23rd and noon at Saturday the 24th; next week, racing starts at 12:25 on Friday the 30th and 2:30 on Saturday the 31st. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.           

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – When the entries came out for Friday’s $16,200 fast-class trot at Harrah’s Philadelphia, Baldaquin faced having to overcome the outside in the field of seven.
 
When the program came out, the field was down to five due to two scratches.
 
When the field came out on the track, there were only four, as another horse had been withdrawn.
 
When the high-class horses came out of the first turn, one made a break, basically leaving a field of three.
 
That was much better news for the late-charging Baldaquin, who summoned enough rally in the stretch to notch the victory in 1:56 over a “good” track. The gelded son of Explosive Matter took the measure of Focus Pocus, who had rallied from the pocket to the lead nearing the stretch, by three-quarters of a length, with favored Yanks Dugout settling for third as the favorite despite setting the pace to his liking. But Friday fortune favored Baldaquin, who has 14 wins in 39 starts and earnings of $165,133 for trainer Louise Pepin, also co-owner with Steven Bryden.
 
Champagne Hanover was forced to travel the difficult first-over route in the $14,400 co-featured trot, but after taking the lead around the far turn he found enough to hold off the horse on his back, Racer Dan, by a neck at the end of a 1:57.3 mile. The Bar Hopping sophomore filly proved gritty in victory for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Annie Stoebe, and owners R. Lynn and Philomena Curry.
 
Troy Beyer had four driving wins on the afternoon; George Napolitano Jr. had three.
 
Racing resumes on Sunday at 12:40, with “hot horse” Pat McGarry A assigned the outside in a field of six contesting a $22,500 fast-class handicap pace. The final two weeks of the 2022 campaign at Philadelphia will find live racing on Friday and Saturday – both Fridays will begin at 12:25, with Saturday the 24th having a noon post time and the last card of the year on the 31st starting at 2:30. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.      

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Pat McGarry A won for the fourth time in his last six local starts on Sunday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, winning the $22,500 fast-class handicap pace in 1:51 over a track that had been downgraded to “sloppy” after daylong precipitation.
 
The altered son of Million Dollar Cam was pushed past a :27 quarter by Da Delightful before claiming the lead for driver Joe Bongiorno, who reached the half in :55.4 with the pacer, then rocked him to the three-quarters in 1:23.3 as Da Delightful tried to stay close and Colossal Stride A sought to gain uncovered. Pat McGarry A responded to the urging to stay 1½ lengths clear at the finish, with Colossal Stride A claiming second over Da Delightful in the last steps. Joe’s sister Jenn Bongiorno trains the 13-time season winner for M T Stables Ontario Inc.
 
Andres Hanover overcame the difficult post eight by making two moves in winning the $14,400 co-featured pace in 1:53.3 for Michael Goldberg Racingllc. The Betting Line four-year-old gelding was the third successful teaming of the afternoon for trainer Andrew Harris and driver Andrew McCarthy; McCarthy would also guide a pair of winners for trainer Jeff Cullipher to give him five in total on Sunday. Others with triples included driver Joe Bongiorno and trainer Crissy Crissman-Bier.
 
Six more cards remain in the 2022 harness racing season at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with racing this coming week on Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40. For the two year-end holiday weeks, there will first be racing on Friday the 23rdat 12:25 and then Saturday the 24th at 12 noon; the year closes with racing on Friday the 30th at 12:25 and Saturday the 31st at 2:30. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.                                                  

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Robbie Pev followed a solid cover flow, was left uncovered on the far turn, then was along to take a 1:54.3 victory in the $16,200 featured fast-class handicap trot at Harrah’s Philadelphia on a sunny Friday afternoon. 
 
Favored Fast As The Wind secured to lead in front of the stands in front of P L Notsonice, but then the pocketsitter popped back out early in the backstretch and cleared to the lead, with Mystical Wynn, who was racing off her cover, ducking into the pocket at the three-quarters. The Bar Hopping gelding Robbie Pev, guided by David Miller, was in the flow behind these two, but dug in hard through the lane to defeat P L Notsonice by a neck, with Mystical Wynn another half-length off in third. Jill Roland trains the winner, who has seasonal earnings of $107.059 and a lifetime bankroll of $189,566, for owner Bernard O’Brien.
 
Driver Troy Beyer added to his best statistical year ever, getting Beer Cheese home a neck ahead of A Perfect Helen to capture the $14,400 co-featured trot in 1:57.1 for trainer Robert Baggitt Jr. and owners Christine Baggitt and Kenneth Frieder. Beyer is eighth in the standings at Philly, with 94 victories and almost $1.1M in earnings starting the day, and he has 138 wins and $1.5M in all of his 2022 driving. Beyer, who recently guided two $100+ shots on the same card, added his eighth $50+ tally with the overlooked $77.60 winner to lead the local colony in that stat.
 
Simon Allard had four victories to lead all drivers, while Troy Beyer and David Miller came home first three times. Robert Baggitt Jr. and Jacob Hartline both harnessed a pair of winners. 
Racing at Philly will resume on Sunday at 12:40 with a fifteen-race card; in the $22,500 tenth race featured fast-class handicap pace, Pat McGarry A has been established as the early favorite at 3-1; rated at 7-2 are Colossal Stride A, starting to his left, and Lou’s Sweetrevenge, starting to his right. There will be a $2341.13 carryover into the first four races’ Pick-4 wager. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.                     

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Pat McGarry A has now won three of his last five starts against the top pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia after winning in 1:50.2 during Sunday afternoon’s $16,200 feature pace at the southeast Pennsylvania oval.
 
Joe Bongiorno, left hard from the rail with the transplanted Million Dollar Cam gelding, yielding to second choice Carlisimo midway to the :27.1 opening split then moving to the lead in front of the stands. Before the :55.2 half, Pat McGarry A had a challenge from Pyro, but he was equal to that adversary and was able to open a little daylight by the 1:22.3 three-quarters.
 
Blank Stare, who had saved ground until the stretch, proved the biggest threat to the winner, who was kept under hustling tactics to stay a neck of that rival; Carlisimo held for third. The Jenn Bongiorno trainee won for the twelfth time during the campaign, during which he has won $111,472, for owners M T Stables Ontario Inc., who acquired the horse in April.
 
The win with Pat McGarry A was Joe Bongiorno’s third straight on the card; he came back to extend his streak to four, and Jenn Bongiorno and M T Ontario Stables Inc. completed a sweep of the Sunday features, when the American Ideal gelding King Triton A held on to defeat rivals to each side in 1:51.2 in the $15,300 co-feature. Stonebridge Karis, the only horse to defeat the “King” in three American starts, grabbed the racetrack early, with Bongiorno and the heavy favorite moving forward past the :27 quarter and right to the lead, with midsplits of :56 and 1:23.2. Stonebridge Karis, to the winner’s inside, joined first-over Twin B Deluxe to the outside in challenging the leader, but King Triton A proved three-quarters of a length better than “Karis,” who photoed out Twin Be Deluxe for second.
 
There were two divisions of the top-level claiming pacers competing in two $13,000 handicap events. The first division appeared the slightly tougher, with six of the eight contestants coming off of victories, and indeed one of the winners last time repeated – in fact, Machiavelli posted his third straight victory, here in 1:52. Simon Allard raced him in the two-hole, then the pair finished well along the inside to defeat second-over Meadowbrook Flash by three-quarters of a length. An 11-time winner this year with earnings of $115,940 in 2022 and $486,551 lifetime, the victorious Somebeachsomewhere gelding continued his sharp form for trainer Tahnee Camilleri, co-owner with Besim Ozda and Katie Remmerswaal.
 
In the other cut, the Mach Three gelding Gonnahaveonemore, close against slightly better in his last few, was able to stay inside in third until late backstretch, then moved after the pacesetting favorite Caviart Max and caught him by a neck in 1:52.2. Troy Beyer handled the winner for trainer Gilbert Garcia-Herrera and owner Barbara Arnstine – though the horse will have new connections for his next start after being claimed for $25,000.
 
Racing will be held on Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40 the next two weeks at Harrah’s Philadelphia, and then there will be Friday-Saturday racing before the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, both of which fall on Sunday this winter. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.     

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
​​CHESTER PA – Time Tetrick further strengthened his stranglehold on the seasonal victory standings for drivers when he won the two featured races during the Friday afternoon card at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
In the $22,500 fast-class handicap trot, Stormy Kroner exhibited the form that had carried him to two recent wins in Open company at Yonkers, setting all the pace in winning by 2¾ lengths over pocketsitter Focus Pocus in 1:52.4. The victorious Dejarmbro gelding put up fractions of :27.1, :56, and 1:23.4 while notching his eleventh win of the year, putting his seasonal bankroll at $247,975 and his lifetime earnings at $791,849 for trainer Paul Stafford and owner Thomas Ceraso Jr.
 
In the $15,300 co-feature for developing trotters, Tetrick kept the sophomore Cantab Hall gelding Outside The Fire behind pacesetter P L Notsonice, who set fractions of :27.3, :56.3, and 1:25.2, came out on the far turn, then edged away from that rival to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:54.1. The winner of $100,538 is trained by Anette Lorentzon, and she is also co-owner with ACL Stuteri AB. 
 
George Napolitano Jr. and Tim Tetrick drove the winners of the Late Double to tie at the top of the drivers list on the day with four victories.
 
Racing will resume at Philly on Sunday at 12:40, with a mix of pacing features for the fast-class horses, developing youngsters, and high-priced claimers. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.  

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
​CHESTER PA – Pacer My Nay Nay and trotter Is A Pearl FR were the winners of the $12,600 features on the chilly Thursday afternoon card at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
 
My Nay Nay, a freshman daughter of Captaintreacherous – Well Street Flashy trained by Brett Pelling for owner Thaddeus Weir, now has two wins and a photo second to her credit since coming to Philly from Lexington after her 1:54.2 victory on Thursday. David Miller moved the two-year-old to the lead after the quarter and remained firmly in control of the opposition, winning by 4¾ lengths over pocketsitter Icarus Falls N.
 
As you might guess from her breeding, Is A Pearl FR has traveled even further to get to Philly – this was her first U.S. start after last racing in July in France. The four-year-old daughter by Ready Cash out of a Workaholic mare was parked to the quarter for the lead, withstood a hard backstretch challenge from 42-1 shot Mr Crimson, then kept a margin of 1¼ lengths over inside closer Unresolved Debt, with Mr Crimson holding on for third in the 1:58.1 mile. Andy Miller guided the winner for trainer/wife Julie and Windsong Stable.
 
On Thursday there were two principal ways to get to the Philly winners circle – have the last name of Miller, or be the pacesetter in your race. Besides Andy and Julie in the trotting feature, Hall of Famer David Miller won four times including his pacing feature victory, and Andy and Julie’s nephew Marcus won three times. Horses setting the tempo were successful eleven times on the fourteen race card.
 
The 14-year-old Christian Cullen gelding Mr Hasani N finished second in his 306th and final career start, then was honored with winners circle ceremonies later in the card. Mr Hasani N came to the U.S. at four and put on an 8-6-2-0 tear at the end of the 2012 meet here, taking his mark of 1:49.3f and closing out that year with a win in a $75,000 Open. 2012 was the first of four consecutive years when Mr Hasani N earned in six figures, and his career tally rests at 284-44-33-36-$757,807, with a Harrah’s record of 135-28-17-21, all under the care of trainer Darran Cassar.
 
This was the final Thursday card of the year at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Racing continues this week on Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40; the feature on Friday’s card is a $22,500 fast-class handicap trot, with Yonkers (via Dover) shipper Stormy Kroner the early favorite. Program pages for all Philly cards are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.