By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
​​WILKES-BARRE PA – The 2021 racing season got underway on Saturday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, and while the temperature hovered in the low- to mid-20s, the action was hot on the racetrack, at the claiming box – and if your horse was driven by Matt Kakaley.
 
Featured during the curtainraiser were the first preliminary legs of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series for two divisions: horses with a $25,000 base tag and horses based at $15,000. The claiming prices rise a little in the next two preliminaries – which may be part explanation for the incredible total of 41 claims during the card. $825,000 worth of horseflesh went home to a new barn after the races as hopefully the right horse for their purchasers to chase after their $50,000 and $30,000 Championships respectively on March 6.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – An extra card has been added to the February racing schedule at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. The trotters and pacers will be racing over the 5/8-mile oval on Monday, February 22, with first post time 12:30 p.m.
 
This card will be drawn on Wednesday, February 17, with the box closing at the usual 9 a.m. A condition sheet for this day’s races will be available shortly.
 
Pocono will open its 2021 season this weekend, with a Saturday card at 12:30 p.m. and a Sunday program starting at 5 p.m.
 
FINISHING LINES – The 10-year-old Somewhere Fancy posted the fastest qualifying time on a “24-2” weather day for Pocono qualifiers Thursday, going wire-to-wire and holding off the big late move (56.2-27.4) of Clouseau Hanover in 1:56.3 by a half length. … Trainer/driver Chris Carrubba Jr. made his first-ever appearance at Pocono a winning one, taking  a qualifier with Pet Sur-roc on the engine in 1:57.1.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES BARRE PA – The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono will be looking for more cooperation from the weather this weekend after losing its opening day card to the aftermath of a snowstorm last Saturday. This weekend the northeast Pennsylvania track is planning to race on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m., with 14 races on each program.
 
The weekend features will be the opening preliminary rounds of the popular Game Of Claims Pacing Series, where four levels of competitively-priced opponents contest three prelim legs trying to earn their way into a rich Championship on the weekend of March 3-4. On the Saturday card, there will be seven $25,000 divisions of the series for $25,000 base-price claimers and four $15,000 cuts of competition for $15,000-tagged horses. Sunday will see the first prelims for $7500- and $10,000-priced horses.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The brutal early-week snowstorm that attacked much of the country hit very hard in the Pocono Mountains / Wilkes Barre-Scranton area, dumping two feet of snow or more in some areas, and forcing The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono to cancel its first planned card of 2021, which was to go on Saturday at 12:30 p.m..
 
The racetrack and its environs could not be sufficiently cleared, and the track reworked, to ensure the safety of the horses and people involved, forcing the cancellation.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono opens its 2021 racing season this Saturday afternoon. Post time for the 55th year of competition at the northeast Pennsylvania oval is 12:30.
 
The headliner on the inaugural card is a $14,000 fast-class pace slotted for race ten on the 14-race card. The 5-2 morning line favorite is the Rocknroll Hanover gelding Redbank Blaze A, who has been closing very strongly while competing at Yonkers for trainer Jose Godinez and the Godinez Racing Stable LLC. The Down Under import, who starts from post one, will have the sulky services of George Napolitano Jr., who will be bidding for his tenth consecutive victory crown among Pocono drivers, and who is listed for action in 12 of 14 races.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The activity at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono is growing every day in anticipation of the track’s 56th year of harness racing, a season which begins on Saturday, February 6.
 
Horses are already training over the track during set hours every day. Pocono would like horsemen to know that because of the winter weather peaking right around the corner, there will be NO training over the Pocono surface on Tuesday, January 26.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – With the whole harness world watching Thursday afternoon, Harrah’s Philadelphia conducted its usual “Trottin’ Thursday” cad with a deluxe twist – all fourteen races were for horses on the diagonal gait.
 
In the first of two $12,800 feature races, the Sebastian K sophomore filly Heat Wave Hanover brushed to the lead under the finish wire the first time and held the advantage to the end of the 1:56.2 mile for the driver/trainer brother/sister team of Joe and Jennifer Bongiorno. First-over Hunting As was three-quarters of a length behind the winner, who has now taken three of her last five starts for Robert Weinstein.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The American Ideal mare Its Mesmerise N got a great trip in the pocket behind Bye Bye Felicia, then came outside in the lane and ran that one down by  a neck in 1:52.1 while winning the $11,600 featured distaff pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon. 
 
Driver Simon Allard kept Its Mesmerise N in the golden chair behind fractions of :27.4, :57.2, and 1:24.3, and when first-over favorite New Year could make no headway, the race came down to the front two. The New Zealand import had :54.3 back-half speed while recording her eleventh victory of the year and to go over $100,000 in career earnings for trainer Chris Ryder and Windemere Stables LLC.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – With the temperature registering just two degrees above freezing, the Banker Volo sophomore trotting gelding Itsonlymoneyhoney provided the heat by winning the trotting section of a pair of $11,200 features in a lifetime best of 1:55.4 on Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia. 
 
The recent import from Iowa via Hoosier and Yonkers had to go first-over, but he proved more than equal to the task, coming his own back half in :56.4 for driver Andrew McCarthy (a three-time winner on the afternoon). Itsonlymoneyhoney won by 4¾ lengths over favored Father Dunn, who tried to follow his cover but could not stay with him. The Rob Harmon-trained three-year-old, owned by Harmon Racing Stable LLC, Lawrence Kittenplan, and Winners Circle Racing LLC, won his second straight, and he has recorded 12 victories in but 34 lifetime starts.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – A quartet of $11,200 featured events for younger horses, two on the pace and two on the trot, topped the Friday afternoon action at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with trainer Rob Harmon sweeping the trotting top classes.
 
In the first of the trotting headliners, Itsonlymoneyhoney overcame some recent bad luck and held off the late charge of favored Protostar by a length to reduce his mark to 1:56.4. A victim of a break and then an equipment break in his first two starts for Harmon, Itsonlymoneyhoney was all systems “go” for driver Marcus Miller and the combine of Harmon Racing Stable LLC, Lawrence Kittenplan, and Winners Circle Racing LLC. The Banker Volo three-year-old gelding notched his eleventh lifetime triumph, most of those in the Midwest.