WILKES-BARRE PA – Tyler Buter recorded the 3000th driving victory of his career during a special Easter Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Buter rallied Daddy Let Me Drive into a 28.1 last quarter, closing furiously in the last 1/16 to be up right on the money.
The 33-year-old Buter, from a famous racing family, showed early talent in the sulky when he recorded his first win with I Luv My Pasture at the Gladwin (MI) fair before his 17th birthday. Along the way to his 3000 wins and almost $35 million in sulky earnings, Buter had his best money year in 2015, when his mounts brought home over $5 million; his best year for visiting the winners circle was 2007, when he won 444 times – while driving at 30 different tracks, more than half fairs in his native Michigan.
The Chapter Seven miss Quincy Blue Chip trotted the fastest mile by a three-year-old filly anywhere in North America so far this year, and trotted faster than any three-year-old on a 5/8-mile track in 2019, when she took her seasonal debut in a lifetime best of 1:53.4 in one of two $17,000 cofeatures. Jim Morrill Jr. had the swift miss behind fast fractions of 27.2 and 55.3, moved out to challenge the pacesetter before the 1:24.2 3/4s, then drew away from her field for trainer Gareth Dowse and Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc.
Shadow Cat had an adventurous journey in taking the $17,000 cofeature on the pace in 1:53. The Somebeachsomewhere gelding was looped out of the gate by JK Musicman and remained outside to continue on frontward, only to have to briefly dodge “JK” as that rival went on a break, then went to the infield. Shadow Cat hit the quarter in 26.1 while forcing main rival Tivo Hanover, who was carried wide early, then went to the half in 57 and looked comfortable nearing the 1:25.3 ¾.
But Shadow Cat suddenly took a bad step, with Tivo Hanover easing outside from the two-hole. However, the winner of $165,660 righted himself immediately, then dug back in to hold off the surge of Tivo Hanover by a neck in a 27.2 last quarter for driver Jim Morrill Jr., trainer Jennifer Bongirono, and owners Howard Taylor, David Rovine Stable LLC, and Tom Lazarro.
The first of the 2019 $30,000 Weiss Series Championships takes place on Monday’s twilight card at The Downs, with Ghosttothepost trying to complete a Weiss sweep after taking all three of her preliminaries. She’ll be handled by George Napolitano Jr. as she begins from post five in the nine-horse field of pacing distaffs.