First qualifying races at Philly have run

CHESTER PA – The first qualifying races of the 2025 harness racing season were held at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday morning, over a track rated “good +1.”

The very first race of the year saw the Captaintreacherous colt Captain Fear come home in :56 to hold off Meltdown Monte by a nose in 1:55.4 for driver Mark Herschberger and trainer Tom Fanning. That time looked like it might stand up as the standard for the day over the off going, but later the “season’s record” was lowered a tick by the Betting Line gelding Bettor Not Talk, who paced in 1:49.1 here last year and on Friday came identical back halves of :28 for trainer Scott DiDomenico and driver Tim Tetrick, four-time defending dashwinning champion who had a quadruple during the morning session.

Father/trainer Chris Ryder and son/driver Patrick combined on a trio of victories. Included in this triple were a pair of three-year-olds: the Bettor’s Wish filly Bytheliteofthemoon, a stakes winner in Kentucky at two and here coming home in :56.2 from the two-hole to win in 1:56.3, and Stargaze, a daughter of Papi Rob Hanover who paced in 1:57.3 – :56.3 – :28.1 from the pocket in his first charted line.

The third winner for Team Ryder was T H Tyson, a Captain Crunch gelding who was a checkgetter in the 2023 Governor’s Cup Final but then saw his three-year-old action limited to a pair of starts. T H Tyson looked like he was trying to make up for last time, moving to the lead before the half and then motoring home in :56.4 – :27.3 to complete a 1:57.1 mile in his first racetrack appearance in exactly eleven months.

The Stay Hungry mare Hers Hungry, a late-bloomer who was a multiple winner in the Kentucky program last year at four, overcame a first-over journey to win in 1:56.4 for driver Jeff Dauplaise and trainer Travis Kolaczynski.

There will be another set of Philly qualifiers on the track’s regular “Q” day of Tuesday, with declarations by noon Monday. This Tuesday (April 8) will also be the date of the first pari-mutuel draw of the season at the southeast Pennsylvania oval (box closes at 9 a.m.), with the first purse card to be held on Friday evening (6:30 p.m.), April 11.

After opening night, Harrah’s will race a schedule of Thursday and Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40, with two exceptions: on Easter Sunday April 20, when the track will be dark, and on Kentucky Derby  Saturday May 3, when an extra card starting at noon will be added.

Among the highlights on the 2025 local season will be “Super Sunday,” May 25, when Philly will host its traditional three $100,000 Invitationals, along with a preliminary of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series for three-year-old pacing colts, and Friday, September 5, which will see $1.4 million of top freshman racing in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship for two-year-olds.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results

From the PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia