By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The 2026 racing season got underway on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, and with the temperatures in the 40s (balmy for this time of year in northeast Pennsylvania), excellent speed standards were achieved over a well-groomed oval.
 
Two weeks ago at The Meadowlands, Resolve To Win was third at 5-2 in the same race as Ultion Face S, who was fourth at 51-1; last week Resolve To Win faded late at the Meadows, while Ultion Face S went wire-to-wire at Yonkers. In Pocono’s $27,500 fast-class handicap trot Saturday, the long-memoried got a nice 5-1 price on the Resolve gelding Resolve To Win, who sat on the back of 1-5 chalk Ultion Face S in fractions of :27, :56, and 1:24.3, then moved at headstretch and trotted away in 1:53.1. Brett Beckwith handled the winner of $359,096 for trainer Enrico Robinson and owner Pollack Racing LLC.
 
In the $27,500 featured pace, it looked for a while like the similar situation as in the trot might be developing, as two Per Engblom trainees raced 1-2, with heavy favorite Pinny Tiger A on the lead coming into the lane, with 7-1 Lou Hill – who had defeated Pinny Tiger A at The Meadowlands in his last race, at the end of 2025 – enjoying the golden chair. But Pinny Tiger A, who made two moves early (:27.4, :56) to control the tempo after a sharp 1:50.4 win at The Meadows in his 2026 bow, was equal to the challenge, powering home in :54.2 - :26.4 to reduce his mark to 1:50.2. Jason Bartlett was in the sulky for the winner, who ran his Stateside record to 9-7-2-0 for Engblom and Elite Harness Racing LLC.
 
Trainer Brandon Presto, the top trainer at The Meadows, loaded a trailer with six horses to compete in the $15,000 first round preliminaries of the Game To Claim Pacing Series for horses base-tagged at $25,000. He won with three of them – but will head back westward with none of the three, as the trio were part of the nine horses haltered for a combined $225,000 in this hectic claiming series.
 
The three Presto horses, all driven by George Napolitano Jr. for owner Rocco Stebbins, won the three fastest divisions. Quickest time was the 1:51.3 posted by the Captaintreacherous gelding Ilderton AM, who caught pacesetter Supplemental Fee by a nose – a week after Stebbins/Presto claimed him. The Custard The Dragon gelding Rum N Raisins posted a new mark of 1:51.4 in his section, while the Sweet Lou gelding Do Mischief succeeded in 1:52.
 
Also winning and then having to change barns was Dontlikeitleave, an altered son of A Rocknroll Dance who nipped Whiskey Breath by the slimmest of margins in 1:52.2 for Team Stratton, driver Jordan and trainer Cory, and Caldwell Marnie Racing LLC (the successful claimants of Do Mischief). Getting the luxury of returning to “familiar surroundings” was the Check Six gelding Six Again, a 1:52.2 winner for driver Matt Kakaley and owner Stacey Currie; “familiar surroundings” is a relative term here, as Six Again had just come to trainer Crit Walsh before this race.
 
Jason Bartlett, who will be picking up his 2025 Driver of the Year trophy in Florida next weekend, had four winners in all, three for Per Engblom; George Napolitano Jr. and Brandon Presto had their mutual triples as noted; and Brett Beckwith had a trio of winners circle visits as well, two trained by Joe Bongiorno.
 
Pocono opens the season with the basic schedule it will follow almost the entire year – racing on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday at 1 p.m. – and the next card on Monday will have a $15,500 pace for developing horses. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.  

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania starts off its 2026 season with a 1 p.m. program on Saturday, February 14, and it is as solid a racing card as may have been presented during any of the previous sixty Pocono curtainraisers.
 
There is a $27,500 fast-class feature for seasoned veterans on both gaits. The sixth race trot is a handicap affair, with the four outermost starters in the field of seven showing a victory on their top lines. The Brodster, starting from the far outside for trainer Per Engblom, will be going for his fifth straight victory; his stablemate Ultion Face N, a wire-to-wire at Yonkers last Thursday, starts just inside him, and it will be interesting to see which horse Jason Bartlett, named on both and another starter in the race, will be handling.
 
Engblom also has a pair in the $27,500 pacing headliner. Pinny Tiger A had won five straight starts before ending his 2025 with a head defeat at the hands of Lou Hill – the other Engblom trainee, and away from the races since that December 27 triumph. Pinny Tiger A opened his 2026 campaign with a rallying win in 1:50.4 at The Meadows on January 31, and will start from post three in this seven-horse field, with Lou Hill beginning from the five slot.
 
The inaugural card will also feature five $15,000 divisions of the first preliminary leg of the popular Game Of Claims Pacing Series, the fields in for a base tag of $25,000 this week. Brandon Presto, the leading trainer at The Meadows, will load up a truck with six GOC series horses for an eastern invasion, and the sextet show eleven wins among their past performance lines. Paul Blumenfeld, Cory Stratton, and Darren Taneyhill will have starters from their respective barns in four of the five divisions of the GOC series, which culminates in a $35,000 Championship on Saturday, March 7.
 
Tuesday also was the second consecutive day that Pocono hosted qualifying races for horses prepping for this campaign; weekly qualifiers will shift to Wednesday after this week. On Tuesday, with the temperatures “balmy” as elevating from 26o to 31o during the session, there were three sub-1:55 times turned in, the fastest of 1:54.2 turned in by Expedited Service, one of four winners George Napolitano Jr. drove. Mindtrip (1:54.3) and Dandy’s Mercy (1:54.4) clocked the other swift clockings. On the trot, trainer Jill Roland had the fastest two winners, Te Amo Lindy (1:57.2) and Robbie Pev (1:57.4).
 
Both Monday’s and Tuesday’s qualifiers are viewable on the PHHA website, www.phha.org.
 
Pocono will draw Wednesday (the 11th) for 1 p.m. racing on Monday the 16th and on Thursday (the 12th) for racing on Tuesday the 17th; the box for the pari-mutuel cards closes at 9 a.m. After that, the pari-mutuel draws will revert to their normal schedule: draw Monday for Saturday, draw Tuesday for Monday, and draw Wednesday for Tuesday.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania held its first qualifying session of the 2026 season on Monday. Despite 15-degree temperatures, several horses and horsemen evinced sharp form that should serve them well in the early part of the Pocono campaign, which starts this Saturday (February 14) at 1 p.m.
 
Fastest mile of the chilly qualifiers was the 1:54 clocking turned in by the Sunfire Blue Chip gelding Sun Of A Show, who went wire-to-wire and snapped home in :27.2 to withstand pocketsitter Captain Moore A by a half-length for trainer Tee Wine and Wine Stable. Sun Of A Show was driven by Rising Star Award winner Braxten Boyd, who was the only winning sulkysmith on the card not wearing some variation of red and white driving colors.
 
Trainer Scott Blackler, who conditions Captain Moore A, had two other high-powered pacers win for him and owner Chad Kowal. One was Catalpa Rescue A, an American Ideal gelding who had a hard-two-move trip yet still prevailed for driver Jason Bartlett, last year’s local UDR champion, in 1:55.2 after closing in :27.1; the other was the Captaintreacherous gelding Heza Charttopper A, who went wire-to-wire in 1:56, with back numbers of :56.3 - :28, for driver Colin Kelly.
 
Also garnering a training double was Darren Taneyhill, whose winning pair were both guided by Matt Kalaley: Jojo’s Place (1:56.3) and Santafe’s Coach (1:57.4). The latter won a Hempt elimination here in 2017 and is still going strong as a 12-year-old.
 
The other driving doubler was Ridge Warren, who won with two trotters: Kinnder Thinktwice, who was a very good 1:56.1 – :28.3 winner despite the chill, and Midnight Dreams (2:00.2).
 
Another set of ten qualifiers will be conducted Tuesday with an 11 a.m. post, with horses entered from all parts of the class spectrum. One interesting newcomer is Liberty’s Wildcard, who went 12 for 13 in the Maine Sire Stakes sophomore male trotter ranks last year, including a win in the $100,876 Championship at Bangor.
 
Tuesday will also be draw day for Saturday’s first card of the 2026 pari-mutuel season at Pocono (box closes 9 a.m.). Among the features on Saturday will be the first of three preliminary rounds in the popular Game Of Claims Series for pacers base-tagged for $25,000, as the entrants will try to earn spots in the $35,000 series Championship on Saturday, March 7. Pocono will also race on Monday the 16th and Tuesday the 17th at 1 p.m.; this three-day-a-week schedule will be in effect for virtually all of the racing year, joined by nine consecutive 5 p.m. Sunday cards starting May 31.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
STATE COLLEGE PA – Pennsylvania’s fair horsepeople came together Saturday evening at the Nittany Lion Inn for the annual Pennsylvania Fair Awards Dinner, held in conjunction with meetings of the U.S. Trotting Association and the Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association.
 
Maestroed by USTA District Chairman Sam Beegle, the Dinner provides two sets of awards to the best horses at the fairs: honored are the leading pointwinners throughout the summer fair season in the eight fair categories, along with the winners of their Championship events at the end of the season.
 
Three horses were double winners: freshman trotting filly PA Patricia, sophomore pacing filly Milagro, and sophomore trotting male Lionheart Hanover. Milagro earned her second straight Championship, while her stablemate for Tony and Linda Schadel, Lionheart Hanover, became only the second PA fair horse ever to win the group’s point title and Championship at two and three: the other was pacing filly Bettor Strait N Up, who also raced for Tony and Linda.
 
The leading pointwinners, who received a blanket “done up” in their stable colors, were:
 
2-YEAR-OLD TROTTING MALE – RT WONDER COLT, g, Fordham Road – Keystone Wonder, owned by Brocious Racing Stable Inc., trained by Tom Loughry Jr.
 
2-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FEMALE—PA PATRICIA, Father Patrick – Tymal Lux, owned by Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw, trained by Ashley Brown.
 
2-YEAR-OLD PACING MALE – PARTY ROCK HANOVER, g, Tall Dark Stranger – Planet Rock, owned by Tony and Linda Scahdel, trained by Linda Schadel.
 
2-YEAR-OLD PACING FEMALE – VEGAS QUEEN, Sweet Lou – Takara Rose, owned by George Prushnok, trained by Neil Balcerak.
 
3-YEAR-OLD TROTTING MALE – LIONHEART HANOVER, g, Greenshoe - Lady Riviera, owned by Tony and Linda Schadel, trained by Linda Schadel.
 
3-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FEMALE – SHALAMAR HANOVER, Cantab Hall – Setntheworldonfire, owned by Todd and Christine Schadel, trained by Todd Schadel.
 
3-YEAR-OLD PACING MALE-- BETTOR NOT, c, Captain Crunch – Bettorhaveanother, owned by Todd and Christine Schadel, trainer Todd Schadel.
 
3-YEAR-OLD PACING FEMALE – MILAGRO, Always B Miki – Thecrowdiswatching, owned by Tony and Linda Schadel, trained by Linda Schadel.
 
The Championship, who received a snugly warm winter coat, were:
 
2-YEAR-OLD TROTTING MALE – GREEN SHADES, c, Greenshoe – Fifty Shades, owned by Hutt Racing Stable, trained by Steve Cook
 
2-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FEMALE-- PA PATRICIA, Father Patrick – Tymal Lux, owned by Sandy Petersen and Alexa Shaw, trained by Ashley Brown
 
2-YEAR-OLD PACING MALE – PAPI HOUR, c, Papi Rob Hanover – Candlelight Dinner, owned by George Prushnok, trained by Neil Balcerak
 
2-YEAR-OLD PACING FEMALE – DANCIN SWEET HEART, Always B Miki – J M Betting Hearts, owned by Grace Wright, trained by Gary Johnston
 
 
3-YEAR-OLD TROTTING MALE – LIONHEART HANOVER, g, Greenshoe - Lady Riviera, owned by Tony and Linda Schadel, trained by Linda Schadel
 
3-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FEMALE – TALLY THE TAB, International Moni – Cantab Cabela, owned by Todd and Christine Schadel, trained by Todd Schadel
 
3-YEAR-OLD PACING MALE—COMPENSATE ME, g, Sweet Lou – Breakheart Pass, owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, trained by Ron Burke
 
3-YEAR-OLD PACING FEMALE -- MILAGRO, Always B Miki – Thecrowdiswatching, owned by Tony and Linda Schadel, trained by Linda Schadel
 
Young James Schadel, who deputized for his parents Tony and Linda while they were on a cruise, did yeoman’s work in collecting all the stable’s winnings. He also was a frequent recipient during the distribution of the door prizes, which make the Fair Dinner Ticket one of harness racing’s best values, as the average ticket cost is exceeded by the average amount of “swag” the attendees garner. The redoubtable Roger Hammer won a jog cart, while the “grand prize” of a sulky went to Abby Martin.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
​STATE COLLEGE PA – District 7 (Pennsylvania) of the United States Trotting Association met on Saturday, January 17 at the Nittany Lion Inn, with 28 in attendance – the third biggest attendance among Districts meeting so far, with the fourth highest turnout per percentage of USTA members and the highest ratio of attendees of any District with 1000 or more members.
 
Present were District 7 Chairman Sam Beegle, along with fellow member director Rich Gillock; track directors in attendance were Barry Brown and Rick Kane. Also present were USTA executive vice-president Mike Tanner, vice chair Mark Loewe, and secretary Michele Kopiec, in addition to Daryl Breniser of the PA Horse Racing Commission and Fred Strathmeyer of the PA Department of Agriculture.
 
Loewe led the assembled through the rule changes that were to go before the USTA Board, so that the Directors were made aware of their constituents’ attitudes. After lively discussion, the following proposals got the following reactions:

·         Resigning membership while under investigation – APPROVED

·         Horse race fatalities reported to USTA— TABLED

·         Shoes off/shoes on — REJECTED

·         Horse retirement contribution from claims— TABLED

·         Start caps for 2- and 3-year-olds — REJECTED

·         Deposit for appeals — APPROVED

·         Stallion Cap of 160 Mares— APPROVED

·         Standardbred as embryo transfer recipient mare – REJECTED

·         Executive committee composition – APPROVED

Beegle and Russell Williams were not up for election among the District 7 members; Gillock was and was reelected. Among track directors, Brown will now be joined by Michael Carter of the Meadows.
 
The USTA gathering was preceded by a meeting of the Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association, presided over by Darla DeCarlo Ritenour and secretary Michelle Daugherty. Among the topics discussed were the PA Fair Championships, to be held during a twilight card at The Meadows on Friday, October 9; the success of the livestreaming of racing from the Keystone fairs and of the PFHHA website; and an examination of the “A-B” levels of stakes racing at the fairs, with some modifications to be at least explored. These topics and others will arise at the PA Fair Convention this coming week.
 
PFHHA president Lisa Dunn and vice-president Harold Brocklehurst had previously indicated that they did not wish to return to these positions. In voting among those present, Tom Loughery Jr. was elected PFHHA president and Shawn Johnston vice-president; DeCarlo-Ritenour and Daugherty would continue in their present roles.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Honolulu Hanover came from way off the pace to post a 1:55.4 upset victory in the $14,000 trotting feature on the final card of 2025 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, which had a twilight start and was contested over fast going with the temperatures not varying much from freezing.
 
Honolulu Hanover picked up good cover from favored Kewpie Doll down the backstretch, then was swung wide late on the final turn by driver Mark Herschberger. Kewpie Doll went on well, but the Bar Hopping sophomore colt Honolulu Hanover went on even better to win by 1½ lengths over the chalk for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, William Switala and James Martin. You usually don’t associate $55.00 win payoffs with horses from the stable of the Dan Patch Trainer of the Year, but a bomber winner for Herschberger was certainly not unprecedented – he tied with Johnathan Ahle and Patrick Ryder with three big-payoff winners, the most at Philly for the meet.
 
Trainer Tony Alagna brought a pair of Exit 16W pop-up series competitors from north Jersey to Philly and won the two classes below the feature. Benny J, a son of Walner who won the final of his series in his last start, rushed right to the lead in the $13,500 sub-feature and was not severely threatened throughout in a 1:55.1 tally. Johnathan Ahle drove the winner for owner Kenneth Jacobs.
 
The Alagna Armada came back in the very next race with Fiftyshadesofblu, an altered three-year--old son of Fiftydallarbill who made the lead at the half and soon widened out to an uncatchable margin as he lowered his race record to 1:55.3 (a time in which he had previously won a qualifier). Anibal Borjas had the driving assignment in the $12,000 trot and made the most of it for owners John Bernard and Alagna Racing LLC.
 
In the card’s $11,000 contest for fast-class trotters, B Nicking was on top in three steps for driver Jack Pelling and never looked back in a safe 1:55.2 victory. Favored Ritson sat in the two-hole but could not catch the victorious Wishing Stone gelding, trained by Scott Di Domenico for owner Ben Robards, and now a winner of $529,566.
 
Top pacing purse on the day was the $12,000 offered developing pacers, which was won by the Stay Hungry sophomore gelding Stay Focused in 1:53.1. George Napolitano Jr. moved with the Ron Burke trainee in front of the stands, was kept outside until getting the pocket late in the backstretch, then continued inside and had more than the closing heavy favorite Rider Hanover by a head for owner Bradley Grant.
 
Trainer Bob Belcher started the Sweet Lou gelding Leroy Gibbs in a bottom-level conditioned pace after the horse came to him from The Meadows, and “Leroy” won very impressively – so impressively, in fact, that Belcher and P T Stable had no hesitation to put him in for a $20,000 tag in the $11,000 claiming handicap pace. And Leroy Gibbs justified this confidence (and that of the crowd, which bet him down to 2-1) by riding outside the entire mile, yet still drawing off in the stretch to be the easiest of winners in 1:54.3 for driver Ridge Warren.
 
Warren took closing night honors with four victories; Brandon Givens had three successes in the sulky, and George Napolitano Jr. and Jack Pelling had doubles. On the training side, there were five doubles, by Tony Alagna, Bob Belcher, Scott Brockwell, Ron Burke, and Scott Di Domenico.
 
As it was the final night of the 2025 season, all bets normally “carryovers” were paid out even if nobody had a perfect ticket. The Pick 5 consisted of winners sent off at 9-2, 2-1, 16-1, and 23-1 in the first four legs, and even with a $2.20 horse in the last segment, nobody had all five, so those with four of five winners received $318.60 for a 50-cent wager.
 
Indeed, only three of fifteen favorites won on Wednesday, as further evidenced by these statistics: there was a 50-cent Superfecta returning $5226.80 and four more paying over $1000, and the two Pick 4 50-cent wagers paid $6789.05 and $2348.45 – and all of these last seven had at least one winning combination sold.
 
Tim Tetrick won his eleventh Harrah’s driving victory crown with 187 visits to Victory Lane; he and George Napolitano Jr., who was second in 2025, have been the only two Harrah’s leaders in sulky wins since Cat Manzi claimed the title in the oval’s inaugural campaign of 2006. Tetrick also won his twelfth UDR title with a “batting average” of .420 – only 1/1000th behind Joe Bongiorno’s all-time Philly mark of .421..
 
Trainer Izzy Estrada, who was particularly devastating with first-time starters for his barn, captured his first training win championship with 66 winners coming from his shedrow. Åke Svanstedt captured his second straight UTR title at Philly, and this year he rung up a .523 percentage, a single season local mark!
 
Live racing resumes at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday, April 10, 2026; the track will stay open for simulcasting wagering. In addition, Philly’s PHHA “sister track,” Pocono, opens its 2026 live season on Saturday, February 13.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – It’s rare to see a trailer in an overnight race at Harrah’s Philadelphia, but the Racing Office had the good favor of nine solid fast-class trotters drop in the box, so it was decided to go with nine while raising the purse to $18,000, and they were eight-wide behind the gate. But it was the trailing horse, Benjamin Hanover, who emerged victorious, winning his fifth straight race in 1:54.2 on a dank day and over a “good” surface.
 
Tim Tetrick, has a great talent for working out second-over journeys, and even as the trailer he kept Benjamin Hanover’s nose tight on the #1 and got away midpack as favored Ari Ferrari J broke challenging for the lead. Little Expensive, second to Benjamin Hanover the last two weeks and the rail horse here, brushed to the top in front of the stands.
 
Resolve To Win started an determined bid uncovered from midbackstretch, giving perfect cover to Benjamin Hanover. The first-over wore down the pacesetter, but Benjamin Hanover and Tetrick were poised to pounce, and they beat Resolve To Win by a length.
 
Benjamin Hanover certainly is among the gamest and hardest-trying of horses – in addition to his current streak for trainer Scott Di Domenico and owner Angela Cornell, the five-year-old Sebastian K S gelding is 11-for-20 for the season and has 30 wins in only 52 trips to the gate lifetime.
 
The top pacing purse was $13,500, for horses really coming into their own right now. The victory was taken by the Betterthancheddar sophomore colt Tito N Cheddar in his second start since coming home from Woodbine, with Corey Callahan in the sulky for trainer Joe Bongiorno and Hutt Racing Stable. Last week Lochlan Hanover won in this class as he got the jump on a late-clearing Tito N Cheddar; this week Callahan took control of the pace and could shrug off Lochlan Hanover’s tough uncovered bid into a :56.1 last half, winning by 1¼ lengths in 1:53.4. Lazarus Star was able to come up the inside and beat out Lochlan Hanover for second.
 
Vanderbilt N, making his Stateside debut after competing against tough foes Down Under, was quite impressive in his Stateside debut, winning in 1:52.1. The Heidi Cushing trainee, owned by driver Ron Cushing in partnership with Kevin Swywk, hustled early to the lead, yielded to Lyons Steel, then saw Leonidas A blast to the top in quarter three by coming his own split in :26.2. After the big expenditure by the new leader, Lyons Steel came back out for more on the turn, and Cushing tipped the Enzed pacer out behind him, swung him wide for the drive, and Vanderbilt N was a going-away winner against solid opposition – you may be hearing more from this one soon.
 
The 15-year-old pacer Iammrbrightside N was retired after competing in an amateur drivers event. Iammrbrightside N compiled a very commendable 29-7-2-7-$44,700 scorecard this season for owner/driver Anthony Verruso and trainer Veronica Spicer, and his lifetime tally reads 364-63-55-54-$727,332.
 
Just another day at the office for the track’s leading driver, Tim Tetrick, who posted the only triple of the day; he has twenty-one December victories at Philly in only six appearances. Doubles on the day were rung up by trainer Scott Di Domenico (both winners driven by “Timmy T”) and Mark Ford, and by drivers Corey Callahan, amateur reinsman Geovany Hernandez, and George Napolitano Jr.
 
Harrah’s Philadelphia will concludes its 2025 meet on Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, with a special starting time of 4 p.m. The leading drivers and trainers for the meet will be recognized, and the fans will have the bonus of mandatory payouts on the last iteration of the normal “carryover” wagers. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Muscle Hill sophomore gelding Net Weight, in his first start in six months, was more than ready for the $12,000 trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on a sub-freezing Friday afternoon, winning by two lengths in 1:59.3.
 
Johnathan Ahle had Net Weight in the two-hole through most of the mile behind Soft Landing, and when he tipped his three-year-old to the inside for the stretch drive, he proved to have more than enough to win as the heavy favorite. Net Weight, whose only other career victory came in a Kindergarten Consolation last season, is trained by Noel Daley for The Gandolfo Stables, Lenny Zelin, Harbor Racing Stable LLC , and L A Express Stable LLC.
 
They were three across the track at the finish of the $11,000 fast-class pace for distaffs, with the Captaintreacherous mare Bellucci proving most photogenic in 1:54.2. The Scott Di Domenico trainee rode second-over for driver Jack Pelling as pacesetter Maria Allegonda N went head-to-head with first-over favorite Miki In Luv, then fanned wide and was just along by a head over Maria Allegonda N, with Miki In Luv just a nostril behind them. Larry Fischer owns the nine-time seasonal winner.
 
Shezafreaklikeme closed from last to register a $52.80 upset for owner-trainer-driver Stacy Chiodo, giving Stacy the trainer her second $50+ winner of the meet and tying her with Ray Burt as conditioners of dual $50+ bombers at the top of that list at Philly in 2025.
 
Mark Herschberger, George Napolitano Jr., Austin Siegelman, and Jack Pelling all had two driving victories on the program; Pelling’s pair were trained by Scott Di Domenico, who was joined in the conditioning double category by Tony Alagna.
 
Harrah’s Philadelphia has but two cards left in its racing season; the next is Sunday at 12:40, which features a crackerjack $18,000 nine-horse fast class trot and a carryover into the Pick 4 wager on the first quartet of events on the card. The southeast Pennsylvania track then concludes its meet on Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, with a special starting time of 4 p.m. and mandatory payouts on the last iteration of its normal “carryover” wagers. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org. 

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Trainer Per Engblom won the top two races at Harrah’s Philadelphia during the afternoon Christmas Eve card, with the barn producing the 1-2 finishers in the $14,000 featured trot when Kewpie Doll passed Top Gun Hanover late in a 1:55.1 mile.
 
Top Gun Hanover made two speed moves to control the tempo, with the Googoo Gaagaa three-year-old filly Kewpie Doll content to stay in third until the pocket horse started to not keep up, and driver Johnathan Ahle pulled on the right line of his charge. Kewpie Doll methodically trotted up to the pacesetter on the far turn and much of the way in the lane, showing she had a bit more left in the tank nearing the wire to take a length decision. The winner, now victorious in three of her last four, is owned by Dreamlover AB and Engblom Stable LLC.
 
Trainer Engblom again teamed with driver Ahle to take the $13,500 co-feature with Kanon Laser DK, who won his North American debut by swinging wide off the far bend to just catch Flight Of Fritz by a neck in 1:57.4. Flight Of Fritz attacked first-over, gained an advantage towards midstretch, but could not hold off the Danish-bred altered son of One Too Many, who is owned by Engblom Stable LLC and Kasper Foget.
 
The Walner three-year-old filly Entertain Me had hit the board in thirteen of twenty 2025 starts without victory before coming up the inside after a two-hole trip and winning the $12,000 third-level event for developing trotters. Kyle Symington drove the sophomore miss to a new race mark of 1:59 for trainer Noel Daley and Harbor Racing Stable LLC.
 
The $11,000 claiming handicap pace for high-priced horses wound up in a 1:53.2 dead-heat between favored The Boss Said (George Napolitano Jr.), giving him four wins in his last six starts, and The Bizzness N (Mark Herschberger), now victorious in two of his last three. The Boss Said set the pace; The Bizzness N stayed in third then moved when the outer tiers stalled, and was just up to tie the chalk. (Track announcer Mike Bozich alertly noted that the race, the second on the card, was one of only a very few instances with three Double payoffs, as there was also a consolation double on a late scratch.)
 
For the second year in a row Harrah’s Philadelphia had the distinction of hosting the very last Christmas Eve race in the entire world, according to the simulcasting network, though this year the card from Valparaiso, Chile (simulcast through Laurel runners) ran until five minutes before Philly’s last post.
 
No fewer than ten horsemen had multiple winners on the card. Drivers with three victories were Johnathan Ahle, two for trainer Per Eriksson as mentioned above; Corey Callahan, for three different barns; and Mark Herschberger, who won races one, two, and fifteen, the latter two for Ron Burke. Driving doubles went to Brandon Givens (both for trainer Mark Akins), George Napolitano Jr., and Kyle Symington (both for trainer Noel Daley).
 
Harrah’s Philadelphia wishes everyone an enjoyable December 25. The track will return with its final three cards of the year: on Friday at 12:25; on Sunday at 12:40, with a dandy of an $18,000 Invitational trot, and then on New Year’s Eve Wednesday at 4 p.m., with all potential “carryover” pools mandatorily distributed in their last iteration on the card. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
​​CHESTER PA – The Sebastian K S gelding Benjamin Hanover is now five years old. He has made only 51 career starts, but he loves to win, as he posted his fourth straight triumph, tenth in nineteen 2025 starts, and 29thof his career with a snappy 1:54.1 victory in the $16,000 fast-class handicap trot at a cool Harrah’s Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
 
The event was handicapped by earnings in the last four starts; Benjamin Hanover had won his previous three at lower levels, while Little Expensive had two wins and a second at this top level, and thus he had post six to “Benjamin”’s post five. He was also sent off as the 3-5 favorite; Benjamin Hanover was held at 8-5.
 
Tim Tetrick, the track’s top driver, got enough gate jet out of Benjamin Hanover to secure a two-hole trip behind the speedy Little Expensive. That one went soft early fractions of :29 and :58.1, then tried to bottom out the opposition by hitting the three-quarters in 1:25.2. But Benjamin Hanover stayed tight, moved out approaching headstretch, and gradually wore down the chalk by three parts of a length for trainer Scott Di Domenico, second in the local standings, and owner Angela Cornell.
 
Tetrick / Di Domenico also captured the $13,000 fast-class pace with another horse stepping up but still taking his fourth in a row, the Shadow Play gelding Jack’s Shadow N, in 1:52.4.  The native Kiwi was double-jumping and stuck with the outermost post, and perhaps those are the reasons why he was dismissed at 16-1; nonetheless, Tetrick and “Jack” caught the lively cover of It’s In The Stars midway down the back, rode behind that one until into the stretch, then outpaced him to the wire by a neck, his own back half in :55.2. Di Domenico conditions the 51-time career winner for his Triple D Stables Inc., Oompa’s Farm Inc., and Robert Mondillo.
 
“Timmy T” completed a sweep of the features with Lochlan Hanover, taking a $13,500 pace for developing horses in 1:53.3. The sophomore son of Captaintreacherous pulled from third and went up raw in a :27.3 third quarter, was ahead but not inside on the turn, then had to dig in to withstand a big late rush from an unfortunate Tito N Cheddar, taking the decision by a half length for trainer Enrico Robinson and Pollack Racing LLC. Tetrick also won the last race to take the day’s honors by one over Ridge Warren.
 
Harrah’s Philadelphia has a special Christmas Eve card of live racing on Wednesday afternoon starting at 12 noon; it was on Christmas Eve last year that Philly held the last race of the day worldwide and set an alltime track handle mark of $1,587,638. The Pick 5 was unsolved on Sunday and will be carrying over $4470.16 into the Pick 5 wager on Wednesday’s races five through nine; track management has upped the ante and guaranteed a $20,000 pool in the Wednesday Pick 5. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.