By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The lure of $2,300,000 in purses, plus in many cases divisional bragging rights, have attracted a sizable portion of harness racing’s stars to Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania this Saturday afternoon (August 22) for its biggest card of the year, Sun Stakes Saturday. The 14 -race program, starting at 2:30 p.m., is bringing to the mountain oval many of the best horses in North American harness racing, both this year and in recent campaigns.
 
The major format of the day is as follows: each of the four divisions of three-year-olds, separated by sex and gait, are seeded by their moneyearnings in 2026, with a maximum of eight horses per field. The two stakes for males, the Earl Beal Memorial Trot and the Max C. Hempt Memorial Pace, will race for $300,000, $200,000, and $100,000 in three races for each respective group as sorted by seasonal moneywinnings. The James Lynch Memorial Pace and Delmonica Hanover Trot, the companion events for fillies, have $250,000-$125,000-$75,000 sections, their fields  also separated by 2026’s earnings.                                
 
There will also be $100,000 Invitationals for the top older horses on both gaits: the Always B Miki Pace and the Sebastian K S Trot, named after the co-fastest pacer and fastest trotter ever at Pocono.
 
 
Here is a brief look at the top horses in the major contests on the Sun Stakes Saturday card, per event – The three-year-old pacing events are very competitive in a pair of divisions within whom it has been hard to point out a clear leader, so we will turn our attention to them first:
 
 
MAX C. HEMPT MEMORIAL PACE ($300,000 division race 12; $200,000 division race 8, $100,000 division race 4):
 
The crown in the “glamour boys” group has been passed around several times this season; the Hempt may give us a better “read” on who is king of the hill at this point.
 
You can’t leave anybody out of consideration, so from post one to post eight (asterisk* indicates one of three Ron Burke entrants in the race): Melillo* followed up a head loss in the Adios Final with a win in the Milstein on Saturday; Brandon Blvd had been the most consistent of these until he came up a bit flat in the Cane; Al Papi* was powerful in both his Adios miles, and missed a head in the Meadowlands Pace; Odds On Mamba won the North America Cup and his Adios elim; he could do on his best mile.
 
On the right side of the gate: Beau Jangles, Horse of the Year in 2025 and winner of his first 15 races, but then 0-for-5 since; Sweet Lovin Lou and Gentleman’s Club, separated by a head in that order in the Cane; and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes multiple winner Another C Note*.
 
 
JAMES LYNCH MEMORIAL PACE ($250,000 division race 10; $125,000 division race 6, $75,000 division race 2):
 
Loua Dipa, last year’s divisional champion, looked on top of this group, but then tried the boys in the Adios and was unlucky and unsuccessful, and she has not been seen since.  
 
Three fillies looking to fill the “Loua Dipa” void start from the middle of the field in the Lynch. Sangria Summer has won three of her last four starts, in the last beating her two main Lynch rivals in the Shady Daisy on Hambletonian Day – Darlin’s Angel, winner of over 50% in her career and just a head away in the Shady Daisy; and Be Perfect GB, who had ten wins over two years and two photo losses to Loua Dipa, earning her favoritism in the Shady Daisy, and missed only three parts of a length in third after setting a fast pace. The late-developing Miss Jum Jabber was not eligible.
 
 
EARL BEAL MEMORIAL TROT ($300,000 division race 13; $200,000 division race 9, $100,000 division race 3):
 
Hambletonian and 2YO champion Apex has been lightly-campaigned all year per his stable’s philosophy, with only five starts to date, and has been kept out of the Beal; the horse who staged such a memorable stretch duel with him, Big Ranger, was not made eligible. This gives other good horses a chance to raise their divisional profile.
 
Minoan, third in the Hambo at 103-1, followed up with a PA Sire Stakes triumph at The Meadows last Saturday. Inexpressable, the Yonkers Trot champion, comes off a win in the Muscle Hill at The Meadowlands. Three others in the Beal – AI, Magic Punk, and Spencer Hanover – qualified for the Hambletonian Final, but were disadvantageouly-placed and finished well back in the big race; they have the credentials to win on their best effort




DELMONICA HANOVER TROT ($250,000 division race 11; $125,000 division race 7, $75,000 division race 1):
 
Setyoursightshigh, the Dan Patch awardwinner in this group in 2025, is finding her top form at a good time: she won her Hambo Oaks elimination, and then was third in the final after having to go first-over. Victorianas Secret is obviously a very fast filly: she has won four in her last five, but her timing was not good in that her loss was in her Hambo Oaks elim – she made an early error then tried to rectify it with coming home in :54 - :25.3, only to lose by three lengths while sixth. And the hometown favorite will be Little Road, trained by 80-years-young Roger Hammer, who shows four wins, one in a PA iSre Stake, and two PaSS photo defeats in her last six lines.
 


SEBASTIAN K S TROT ($100,000; race 5):


The Burke stable has an embarrassment of riches in this division; for the Sebastian K S they have sent a very good representative: Lexus Kody, 2025 Trotter of the Year, Yonkers International winner, and a head shy of being on a four-race win streak. 40 career victories and earnings of $2,234,124 speak to his durability and talent.
 
His main competitor appears to be Nordic Catcher S, from the barn of new Hall of Famer Åke Svanstedt, who was the 2025 Hambletonian champion, then was away from the races for almost a year. A win and a solid fourth in his two races in 2026 could suggest that he is approaching a very big mile. And don’t overlook Sir Pinocchio, who wheels right back in after a 1:51.1 lifetime mark at Pocono on Monday.
 


ALWAYS B MIKI PACE ($100,000; race 14):


Here’s another division that’s been searching for a leader, and it might now have found one, and he’s a local horse – Dandy Ideal, trained and part-owned in this area. Dandy Ideal went out to Hoosier Park last week and tied a track record in a 1:47.2 victory, and he paced that same time in equaling a world record at Pocono a few weeks back.
 
Captain Albano and Ken Hanover are familiar names who are “outsiders” in the Always B Miki in that they have drawn post seven and eight, respectively. Another “outsider” could be Surreal Ideal, who draws well and who has sandwiched two Meadows Open victories around a third after coming from eighth at the stretch call in a division of the McKee on Hambletonian Day.
 
 
The undercard doesn’t lack for firepower, either; among the Consolations are three horses who won their Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship last season: Ginger Tree Lex (3TF), Frantic Hanover (3PC), and Say Goodnight (3PF).
 
 
The Sun Stakes Saturday supercard will also have four guaranteed pools in multi-race bets, in conjunction with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Initiative.
 
Late Pick 4 (races 10-13, the four major stakes) -- $20,000 guaranteed pool
Early Pick 4 (races 1-4) -- $10,000 guaranteed pool
Pick 5 (races 5-9) -- $5000 guaranteed pool
Late Pick 3 (races 9-11) -- $5000 guaranteed pool
 
 
The final scratches and driver changes will be posted early Tuesday afternoon on the U.S. Trotting Association website. Program pages will be available at some point afterward at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The rain came midcard during the Sunday afternoon program at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with the track listed as “sloppy” for the featured pacing races and an unusual-for-Philly pro-closer bias being very prevalent.
 
The Perfect Sting gelding Everlast Sting Deo had come his third quarter raw in 25.3 the week before in finishing second, enough to get him bet down to 2-1 against 2-5 chalk Toast Of The Town, dropping from Tompkins/Adios company, in the $14,000 feature for developing horses. Driver Mark Herschberger, perhaps encouraged by the raw speed the sometimes-fractious sophomore had shown in his previous start, went to a different page in the playbook and moved Everlast Sting Deo to the top past a :27.4 quarter, then stole the half in :57.4.
 
That speed tactic worked – barely – as Toast Of The Town came his own last half in :53.4 first-over to steadily narrow in on the leader, but Everlast Sting Deo held a neck advantage at the wire in a 1:52.2 mile over a track far off its peak speed capacity. The swift sophomore is trained by Travis Alexander for Morrison Racing Stable.
 
Both of the winners in the fast-class features did come from the usually-hard-to-conquer two-wide route to score. The three-year-old Watch Em Win, talking on older horses (he got in the $13,000 top fast-class pace because of an “NW 11 races” AE), spotted fifth for driver Jack Pelling, then was in the flow third-over. The sophomore then stepped home in :54.3 to edge favored Lou’s Starr by a neck in a 1:51.2 mile, with the first five finishers all within a length at the wire. Ron Burke trains the Delaware star, 11-for-21 in his career, for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc., and Phil Collura.
 
Favored Captain Crusader A had an even harder row to hoe in the $11,500 fast-class pacing subfeature, being 5¾ lengths behind at the half, but he came on a resolute grind, going his back half in :53.4 to  defeat Better Not Talk by a half length in 1:52.1 for driver Simon Allard, trainer Enrico Robinson, and Pollack Racing LLC.
 
Allard was the only horseman to have three victories on the card, and Robinson was the only trainer to have multiple wins, both with Allard. Double driving wins were also notched by George Napolitano Jr. and Jack Pelling.
 
“Trottin’ Thursday” will be the next card at Harrah’s Philly at its usual 12:25 p.m. post, with featured races for the top veterans, the developmental group, and one two-year-old trot for each sex. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Endostory and Congressional slugged it out most of the length of the stretch in the $21,000 fast-class pacing feature Saturday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, and it would be Endofstory (ironically-named as an altered son of Lazarus N) who had provided his backers the endofstory they wanted, getting a nose decision in 1:50.3.
 
Congressional is one of the fastest horses leaving the gate around, and George Napolitano Jr. let him get to the lead around Endofstory before coming out by the :26.2 quarter to take charge, after which he got a helpful breather to a :55.4 half. Soon after the 1:23 three-quarters these two left the rest of their opposition in their wake, and then Congressional ducked into the Pocono Pike for his late challenge. The two even money favorites (Congressional had a tiny bit more on him to win) went at each other with all the courage they could summon, with Endofstory getting this decision for trainer Doug Dilloian Jr. and the ownership combine of David Linker, Brian Loman, Robert Venable, and Kyle Warren.
 
Aside from the headliner, many of the paths to the winners circle went through driver Brett Beckwith, who had five wins on the day, for five different trainers. In the $16,000 co-featured fast-class pace, trainer Deborah Daguet and the Alta Christiano gelding Boom N benefited from the young star’s sulky mastery, as Brett used a quarter-move as the basic winning tactic in a 1:50 mile, which set a new mark for the 10-year-old despite his been away from the races for 35 days. Boom N’s ownership is shared by Donald Mac Rae and Stephen Klunowski along with J R and Collin Ryan.
 
Neither of the fast-class miles produced the swiftest of the day’s clockings, however; that honor went to the Captaintreacherous sophomore gelding Treacherous Lou, whom Beckwith guided to a new mark of 1:49.2 for trainer Robert Cleary and Royal Wire Products In.
 
For the developing classes, there were two $17,500 events. The one for pacing males was captured by the Courtly Choice gelding Courts On Fire, who tallied in 1:50.3 for meet leaders Tyler Buter and Ron Burke and the ownership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Frank Baldachino, and Knox Services Inc.
 
The event for up-and-coming trotters went back to the pattern of monster-priced winners that figured in so many races this past week. The Bar Hopping gelding Heytherbartender didn’t pay $100+, but he came pretty close at $82.60, and he was followed by 80-1, 7-1, and 65-1 shots in the 1:53.4 mile as the two favorites broke before the quarter, generating a Superfecta carryover. The count for carryovers during the last four days is now thirteen, including the one into Monday’s Pick 5 wager.
 
Brett Beckwith had five winners as noted, and Tyler Buter checked in with three. It was very interesting to see the correlation between their multiples and Saturday’s most successful trainers; for instance, two of Buter’s three winners came from the barn of his frequent collaborator Ron Burke, whose other winner was guided by Beckwith. Trainer Herb Lux III had two wins – and no extra points for guessing what two drivers he used in his successes.
 
Monday will be a huge day at Pocono; not only will there be a 1 p.m. stakes-laden live card featuring Pennsylvania-sired two-year-old trotting fillies, but it will also be draw day for the highlight of the Pocono season, the $2.3M Sun Stakes Saturday card for the very best three-year-olds and free-for-allers, which will take place on Saturday, August 23, starting at a special post time of 2:30 p.m.
 
Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org (the hope is to have the proofs for the Sun Stakes Saturday card available by later Monday afternoon).

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Starstruck Dreamer, a two-year-old pacing colt by Hall of Famer Captaintreacherous out of double O’Brien awardwinner Scarlett Hanover, became the fastest freshman on a five-eighth mile track in the sport’s history with he won the single $129,892 division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday afternoon in 1:48.4.
 
The clocking beats out the 1:49.1 previous world mark, set right at Philly last year by Frantic Hanover in his Sire Stakes Championship. It is also the second sub-1:50f win for this horse, his third in three Sire Stakes prelims, and his fourth in an undefeated career. He is also the fastest two-year-old anywhere, on any size track, in North America in 2026.
 
Starstruck Dreamer went out strongly to get the lead, but so did Atomix Hanover, and driver Todd McCarthy decided to let that rival go by in a :26.1 opener then move off the first bend to regain the lead. That mission was soon accomplished, and then the timer flashed :54.2 and 1:21.3 at the middle poles, with “Starstruck” increasing his margin step by step past  the latter marker.
 
Starstruck Hanover was still filling his hopples as he streaked through the stretch; McCarthy if anything looked to have a bit of a hold on him. But the winner still won by 5¾ lengths over Eastie Boy, with Atomix Hanover staying on for third behind the powerhouse victor, trained by Noel Daley for Steve Wienick Racing LLC, Pryde Stables Inc., Jfoderatritchiecanamerica, and Hyatt Holdings Inc.
 
Starstruck Hanover has three PaSS wins; archrival Shiloh Hanover, absent for this leg, has two in as many races. They might meet in the final prelim next Friday at The Meadows, but they definitely should clash in their $300,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship at Pocono on Labor Day Monday.
 
There were also five $20,000 sections of Pennsylvania Stallion Series races, all of which resulted in new marks for the winners. Philly’s leading driver Tim Tetrick captured two of them with sons of Stay Hungry, the faster being with the colt Hungry Marco (dam Always Giggling) in 1:52 for trainer Jamie Sullivan and owners David Hamm, Glenn Phillips, and Frank Chick. This win came in the first half of the Late Double, the second half of which was captured by Hungry Marco’s three-quarters (by Papi Rob Hanover) sister Gigglingonthebeach, a 1:50.1 winner.
 
The other of the Tetrick/Stay Hungry duo was with the gelding Scorecard Hounddog (dam Heythere Lisamarie), who broke his maiden in 1:52.2 for trainer Vernon Beachy and owners Green Acres LLC and Mike Klimas.
 
Fastest Stallion Series winner was another maidenbreaker, the Heston Blue Chip – Counterparty Risk colt Current Events, home in 1:51.3 for driver Mark Herschberger, trainer Travis Alexander, and owners Let It Ride Stables Inc. and Alexander Racing Stable LLC.
 
The Captaintreacherous – Certified Ideal gelding Celtic Wave won his second straight Stallion Series prelim when he flew home from far back in :25.4 to post a 1:51.4 clocking for driver Corey Callahan and trainer John Berger, the latter co-owner with Kiefer Elite Bloodstock LLC and Theresa Donnelly. (Tom Collins was a double StS winner in the first two prelims, but he could not sustain a first-over bid  in the Hungry Marco race in his quest for three straight.)
 
Also a Stallion Series winner was the Captain Crunch – Ideal Lifestyle A colt Crunchstyle, and by the biggest margin in his group, 3½ lengths, with an engine 1:52.2 success for driver Troy Beyer, trainer Juan Cano, and the partnership of Cano Racing Stable LLC and Ernie Davis LLC.
 
Tetrick’s two StS successes brought his win total to three on the day, tops among sulkysitters at Philly Friday; Simon Allard and Mark Herschberger had two victories. Doubling conditioners included Mark Akins (both driven by Allard), Juan Cano, and Noel Daley.
 
Sunday’s 12:40 card at Philly has its three features among the last four on the 14-race program: one for developing horses and two for the fast-class set. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
HONESDALE PA – Ante Up Hanover, a five-year-old altered son of Betting Line, won a division of the free-for-all pace at the Honesdale (PA) Fair on Wednesday in 1:56.4, coming within two-fifths of a second of the 16-year-old all-age track mark of Alastor Hanover.
 
Trainer Cody Schadel, who conditions the horse for the owners, father Todd and mother Christine, took the driving assignment as the pacer, a recent 1:51.4 winner at Pocono, won off by himself. A Fair Sire Stakes winner at Honesdale at two, Ante Up Hanover now has career earnings of $205,764.
 
Besides Alastor Hanover’s, there are two other pacing records that were established at still-racing Pennsylvania fairs in 2010: Straight Character set the Indiana and Washington standards that have stood this test of time. On the trotting side, every track record has been broken since 2011 except one – at Indiana, Keystone Badger’s speed mark of 2:00 has been in place for 38 years now!
 
Honesdale annually conducts a free-for-all event on both the pace and the trot, to their commendation. The other division of the FFA pace went to Honesdale’s own Richard Dunn, trainer and co-owner with MBC Stables, of Rusty Beach, a Monticello Open performer who won “at home” in 1:58.2 guided by Eric Neal. The FFA trot on Thursday was won by a Schadel “family team,” but in the other direction: Todd drove Menotti to victory for trainer-owner-father Bruce Schadel.
 
For a two-day meet with 22 races, there were many horses who earned distinction, and we will mention those, starting with Wednesday’s two-year-olds. Fastest freshman pacer was the Papi Rob Hanover – Warrawee Quick colt Fast Getaway (“A,” Todd Schadel, 2:02); fillies Dragon Flame (Td. Schadel) and Honey Roll (Sam Beegle) won “A” events in 2:02.2.
 
Among baby trotters, the Father Patrick – Wind Of The West filly Western Twister is now undefeated in five “A” starts after a 2:04 triumph for driver Eric Neal, trainer Tom Loughry Jr., and Brocious Racing Stable Inc.; that same combine had the fastest of the freshmen at 2:03.3, RT Road To Glory (Fordham Road – RT Gloria De Dios).
 
 Among the three-year-old trotters, Neal/Loughry Jr. swept the “A” contests, with the Fordham Road gelding RT Wonder Colt in 2:03.3 for “Rocky Top” Brocious, and the Father Patrick filly Hot For Her in 2:05.1 for Lone Wolf Stable.
 
Among the sidewheeling fillies, both “A” winners tied the all-divisions fair seasonal mark with their fifth victories for Team Todd Schadel: the Bettor’s Wish filly Don’t Be Late in 2:02.4 and the Papi Rob Hanover miss Papi Knows in 2:02.2. The “B” winner also came from Todd’s barn, and she won for the fifth time, but they’ve all been in the lower class – Dark Sky (Tall Dark Stranger).The same stable also had the fastest sophomore in the Tall Dark Stranger gelding Fourbyfourbyyou in 2:02.
 
This Honesdale meet was the “fair meet,” following the earlier 2-Day Fair Sire Stakes meet. Careful readers will have surmised that Todd Schadel won this stand’s driving and training title, but also having a fine meet were the teams of driver Eric Neal and trainer Tom Loughry Jr. and driver Tony and trainer Linda Schadel.
 
The PA Fair Circuit now goes 341 miles on a mostly-west and slightly-south route to the Washington County Fair (just down the road from The Meadows), held over the oval known as Arden Downs and once a home of Grand Circuit racing.  Entries will be drawn on Friday for racing on Sunday the 16th (scheduled at 10 am) and Monday the 17th (11 am). This is the busiest fair week of the Pennsylvania summer: after Washington they’ll be at Dayton on Wednesday and Thursday, and Meadville on Friday and Saturday.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Bar Hopping gelding Hey Porter got a rough welcome from his Harrah’s Philadelphia opponents upon coming in from Plainridge to compete in the $13,000 fast-class handicap feature trot on Thursday afternoon, but he overcame a hard trip to win in 1:52.3.
 
Handicapped outside in the field of seven, Hey Porter and driver Mark Herschberger left to the outside of Sapphirerainstar and Kierkegaard K, next in the wagering to the favored winner, and those two forced Hey Porter to take back into the three-hole, as Kierkegaard K eventually got around his hard-charging early foe and set fractions of :26.4 and :56.1.
 
Hey Porter was back out uncovered midbackstretch, before the 1:24.1 three quarters, and turned into a grindmaster deluxe, just having too much and getting up by a length over Sapphirerainstar, who just caught Kierkegaard K for second. Hey Porter, trained by Enrico Robinson for Pollack Racing LLC, now has career earnings of $324,088.
 
In a $12,000 event for developing trotters, the Southwind Frank mare On Golden Pond, making her first start for owner Ronald Borduc and trainer Marc Mosher, swept four-wide from last past the three quarters and picked up her opposition to win going away in a life’s best 1:56.1. Trae Porter sensed he had plenty of horse left despite her being away from the races for almost two months, fed her wide racetrack, and On Golden Pond proved equal to the task.
 
Corey Callahan and Mark Herschberger tied for driving honors on the day with three victories each; Johnathan Ahle and Patrick Ryder each visited the winners circle two times.
 
The two-year-old pacing colts in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for two-year-old pacing colts come to Philly for their third preliminary round, with double winner Starstruck Dreamer, coming off a fantastic 1:49.4 victory at Pocono, figures to be the horse to beat in the $129,892 single Sire Stakes split, which will be complemented by five Stallion Series sectors worth $20,000 each. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – What in the name of Rod’s Faybill has been going on this past week at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania?
 
In the third race at Scarborough Downs (ME) on Tuesday, June 23, 1981, a trotter named Rod’s Faybill, starting from post eight, attracted a solitary $2 win wager. Rod’s Faybill was far back most of the mile, but he took advantage of a mixup on the far turn and won (by 15 lengths!), returning a win payoff of $1365.80 – according to the Internet, still the largest in harness racing history. (That single ducat was held by a vacationer from Virginia.)
 
In the sixth race at Pocono on Tuesday, a trotter named Bijou Blue Chip made her career debut from post eight, and she was dismissed at 92-1, the longest odds in the race. Bijou Blue Chip was in the second half of her field most of the race, but then was able to mount a winning rally in her bow.
 
Bijou Blue Chip’s win payoff was $186.40, the highest recorded at The Downs since Spit And Vinegar paid $214.60 on October 12, 2021. This was the third consecutive card at the mountain oval where a $100+ longshot blew out the tote board (four for eastern Pennsylvania if you count the $107.00 winner at Philly on Sunday). That kind of “triple” has not been matched in the last ten years at Pocono. A total of ten carryover pools were generated by the massive overthrow of the form book during the three-day week.
 
Bijou Blue Chip was actually a feature race winner at Pocono, as the card headlined four $16,000 contests for two-year-olds. The Back Of The Neck – Read The Book trotting filly clocked a good maiden time of 1:57.2 for driver Lauren Tritton and trainer Annie Stoebe, the latter co-owner with Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc. and R. Lynn Curry. The race for her male counterparts was won by the Walner – Molto Bene gelding Celebrity Tequila, with whom driver Brian Sears (6-for-15 in his “comeback”) set a slow pace then maintained the advantage for a maiden mark of 2:00 for Flying A Racing Stable, Celebrity Farms, and trainer Hunter Oakes’s H O Racing Inc.
 
There were also two cuts for pacing fillies, both bringing maiden victories. The Perfect Sting – Philly Hanover distaff Philly’s Sting got the nod in a 1:55.4 decision for driver Ridge Warren, trainer Juan Cano, and Hot Lead Farm, while the Stay Hungry – Chant Down Babylon filly Kinda Girl U Like went into grinding mode to be along in 1:56 for Anthony Napolitano and trainer Scott Di Domenico, whose Triple D Stables Inc. owns the baby.
 
Racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday (August 15) at 1 p.m., with a $21,000 fast-class pace the top event of the day. A week from this Saturday, August 22, Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania will be proud to host North America’s top three-year-olds and free-for-allers in the $2.3M Sun Stakes Saturday supercard, with a first race post that day only of 2:30 p.m. The fields for Sun Stakes Saturday will be drawn the morning of Monday, August 17. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Åke Svanstedt barn sent out three winning sons of Captain Corey in PA-sired third preliminary round stakes action for two-year-old trotting males Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Sun, including the colt winners of both divisions of Sire Stakes events contested over a “sloppy” oval.
 
The quicker of the two, Jimdougie Armitage (dam Quick Bet), broke his maiden in fine style with a 1:55.1 victory. Svanstedt, elected to the Hall of Fame last week, was in the sulky behind the winner, coming first-over and still able to win by 2¾ lengths over Dream Shaq, who had to rebound from an early bobble as he sought his third straight PaSS win but had to settle for the deuce. Second in a PaSS event and third from post ten in a Kindergarten leg before Monday, Jimdougie Armitage graduated with flying colors for the ownership of S R F Stable, Knutsson Trotting Inc., Brochart Stable Inc, and Svanstedt & Midnight Sun.
 
Yankee Boss (dam Brigit Of Kildare) won in 1:56.3 just after a midcard storm changed the track from fast to sloppy, reducing his mark from a previous overnight win. The “Boss” was the boss after making the lead past the quarter, with his only end-stage challenger, Big Time Trot S, losing stride in the stretch while close enough to contend. Svanstedt drove “Big Time,” which gave the catch-driving opportunity to a top driver but one you might not associate with Åke’s horses – Jonathan Roberts. The longtime MidAtlantic star is part of the horse’s ownership of Kiwi Stables LLC and Graham Grace Stables LLC, who are also partners in the millionaire pacer Beau Jangles.
 
The other Svanstedt / Captain Corey connection was in the Stallion Series, which was conducted in four $20,000 divisions to swell the day’s stakes money to $191,292. Hook N Reel (dam Flos Conch Shack) added a second victory in the Stallion Series series in back-to-back starts, the gelding winning in 1:57.3 (three of the StS races were held over fast going). Driver-trainer Svanstedt is also an owning partner with Brochart Stable and S R F Stable, giving those entities a second stakes ownership win. Svanstedt also won an overnight race to end his day with three sulky successes and four training triumphs.
 
Captain Corey earned a second PaStS credit and a fourth stakes victory on the day in the fastest StS cut, as the gelding Strapped (dam Borrow And Spend) ran his record to two for three with a new mark of 1:55.4 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nicholas Devita, and owners David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.
 
The other fast track Stallion Series contest went to the Greenshoe – Tuscany colt Scarpa, bringing Pocono’s leading driver Tyler Buter a second stakes win while breaking his maiden in 1:57.3 for trainer Nifty Norman, whose Enzed Racing Stable Inc. shares ownership with Melvin Hartman.
 
Friday Night Fats, a Cantab Hall – Lovely Liv colt, also notched a second win in StS races, also in consecutive starts, with a 1:57.1 success over a surface which had gone over to sloppy. Mike Wilder drove the Matthew Burkholder trainee for Dark Horse Farm LLC.
 
Pocono will be hosting the $1.4M Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championships on September 7, Labor Day Monday; the best of this card’s horses should be on hand, as will many performers highlighting the Tuesday 1 p.m. card, which has four $16,000 overnights for freshmen. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
HONESDALE PA – The Pennsylvania Fair Circuit made the first of two consecutive stops in this northeast Pennsylvania borough, not too distant from the New York state line, on Saturday and Sunday for a 2-Day Fair Sire Stakes meet; there will also be two days of racing during the fair proper this coming Wednesday (the 11th) and Thursday (the 12th).
 
The Two-Day meet had a simple theme each day – the cards was A Tale of Two Teams, with one braintrust having a tremendous Saturday with their two-year-olds and another combination dominating the three-year-old action the next day.
 
The freshman kings came largely from the Todd Schadel operation, with the headliner the International Moni – Alidade trotting colt Allmymoni Hanover, who won in 2:03.1, fastest on that gait by the babies (and even faster than the sophomores the next day). This was his third fair victory for Team Schadel (Todd trainer-driver and co-owner with Christine), turning back RT Road To Glory, the season’s recordholder.
 
The latter trotter campaigns for driver Eric Neal and trainer Tom Loughry Jr.; they would bounce back in the filly division with 2026 fair speed leader Western Twister, now undefeated in four fair outings after a 2:03.3 triumph that missed the Honesdale record by two ticks.
 
On the pace, Todd Schadel as trainer-driver-co-owner had a sweep of the freshman “A” events for males, with the colt Fast Getaway (Papi Rob Hanover – Warrawee Quick, 2:02) and the gelding Keystone Carnegie (Sweet Lou – Pending Approval, 2:03.1). Putting a fourth fair win on the “A” filly Harmony Hanover (Papi Rob Hanover – Hailey Hanover, 2:06.4) ran the barn’s win count on Saturday to five, with Todd handling four (son Cody piloted two winners, one for his dad and the other a catch-drive).
 
Sunday and the three-year-olds redirected the brightest beams of fortune to the combination of driver Eric Neal and trainer Tom Loughry Jr., who had already won one “A” trot with a filly and was second in another with a colt the day before. That one dropped “A” race was the only “A” trot that Neal/Loughry didn’t win during the meet; in fact, on Sunday they won both the “A” and the “B” trot for both sexes!
 
The “A” winners on the trot for Team Neal/Loughry were the filly Hot For Her (sire Father Patrick, 2:04) and the Fordham Road gelding RT Wonder Colt, who needed only 2:09.3 in a two-horse event. Like Team Schadel, Team Neal/Loughry has one principal owner (for them, the Brocious Racing Stable; for Schadel, usually some combination of Todd and wife Christine), but both have “outside” owners, all enjoying the successful run of luck they are both going through.
 
Todd did in fact on Sunday sweep the filly paces with Papi Knows (Papi Rob Hanover, 2:03.1) and Don’t Be Late (Bettor’s Wish, 2:03.3). Fastest mile of the meet came in the “A” sector, by another Papi Rob Hanover offspring, Adam Cheesehead, who won in 2:01.3 for driver Billy Carter, trainer Neil Balcerak, and owner George Prushnok.
 
The two hot combos split the horsemen’s honors for the two-day meet: Eric Neal drove seven winners, one more than Todd Schadel, while Schadel sent out one more winner than Loughry, 6-5. And all of the totals involved in these battles are especially noteworthy when you consider that the meet consisted of only 18 races.
 
The “luck” may be wider-spread when the Honesdale Fair meet goes into action on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at noon. Entries are drawn on Monday the 10th, per Pennsylvania fair custom; and horsemen are reminded that the Honesdale Fair meet offers two $2000 free-for-all contests, with the pacers going on Wednesday and the trotters on Thursday – if you have a candidate, Monday’s the draw day.