Fast miles and upsetters highlight Saturday card

WILKES-BARRE PA – Sun Stakes Saturday, with its $2M+ in purses, will be taking place at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania next Saturday the 16^th; based on the times turned in at the mountain oval Saturday afternoon – seven of eleven paces beating 1:50, and both trots under 1:53 – the harness racing record books may be altered more than once on the big card.

There were $17,000 features for developing horses on both gaits. The pacers were commanded by the Always B Miki gelding Its Saturday Night, who might have gotten his time of day wrong but kept control over tenacious opposition in 1:49.4. Mark Herschberger wanted to control the pace with Its Saturday Night and did so, even with Lou Grant at his heels from before the half-mile pole, and the victorious pair defeated that luckless opponent by half a length to raise his lifetime earnings to $314,577. Nifty Norman conditions the winner for Dune Road Stables LLC.

IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT REPLAY

The companion top-level trot saw Whiskey Lou take both her second straight win and a new mark of 1:52.4. The Illinois champion distaff, a daughter of Lou’s Legacy, was directed to the top by Ridge Warren and didn’t have much trouble tallying, taking her lifetime record to an enviable 20-for-32 for trainer Todd Warren and owner Randy Witt.

The $16,000 top claiming handicap pace went to the rampaging Bullville Stephano, now a winner of five of his last six and author of the fastest mile of the day, 1:49, pouncing from the pocket for Braxten Boyd. The son of Artiscape was claimed for $40,000 out of the race, the fifth straight race after which he has changed shedrows; trainer Jared Bako and owner Dr. Joshua Tanis got an $8000 purse and $6000 in claiming price upgrade from their one week with the pacer.

The features for fast-class horses offered a purse of $14,500. The trotting contest fell to Yonkers invader Cecil Hanover, a Chapter Seven gelding who equaled his mark of 1:52.3 with identical back quarters of :28 for driver George Napolitano Jr. and trainer Åke Svanstedt, the latter co-owner with S R F Stable, Midnight Sun Partners Inc., and Jorgen Sparredal.

Anthony Napolitano threw a pari-mutuel shocker in the fast-class pace as he brought the Huntsville gelding Hurrikane Jonnyboy from last at the three-quarters to be along late in 1:49.2 for trainer Robert Lounsbury and William Dambero. Hurrikane Jonnyboy, the longest shot in the field, returned $93.60 to win, third-highest price of 2025 at Pocono, and brought “A Nap””s meeting leading total of $50+ horses to six … a number which stood for sixteen minutes, when he rallied Rifleman to win in 1:49.4 and return $50.80 to win to his scattered backers for bomber #7.

Three other winners who were part of the Sub-1:50 Brigade, all of whom took new marks, were Lucapelo A (1:49.1), Nineteenth Man A (1:49.3), and Captain Luffy (1:49.4).

$195,778 of stakes action for freshman trotting males will be featured on the Sunday twilight card at Pocono, which commences at 6 p.m.: the two divisions of Sire Stakes horses are headed by Mr Big Spender, looking for his third PaSS win in as many starts, and the four sections of the Stallion Series will have Rico Tubbs looking to accomplish the parallel feat. There will also be carryovers into the first race Pick 4, the fourth race Pick 3, and the fifth race Pick 5, not so extraordinary given the big-priced winners mentioned above.

And, again, we are coming up on the biggest day of the year at Pocono, the $2M+ Sun Stakes Saturday, which will be taking place at the end of next week, August 16, and feature Grand Circuit three-year-olds plus Invitational horses.

Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

From the PHHA / Pocono Downs