Little Expensive delivers for team Miller

CHESTER PA – A rare Sunday afternoon feature trot highlighted the harness racing program at Harrah’s Philadelphia, a track known for its “Trottin’ Thursdays” – but since this coming Thursday is Thanksgiving and a dark day, the top diamondgaiters went for $16,000 on this card.

The feature winner was the well-traveled Muscle Hill gelding Little Expensive, an “Orange Crush” performer for Team Miller: Driver Tyler Miller sent him to the lead, yielded to the favorite and had a nice journey in the golden chair, then came up the inside to hold off the fast-closing Lefties Righies by 1½ lengths in 1:53.1. Tyler’s mother Julie trains Little Expensive, who also has won at Cumberland Run, Oak Grove, Lexington, and The Meadowlands in 2025, and his father Andy (as Andy Miller Stable Inc.) co-owns him with Jean Goehlen and VIP Internet Stable LLC.

LITTLE EXPENSIVE REPLAY

The richest pace on the card offered a $12,000 bounty, and it was taken by the Control The Moment three-year-old gelding Shining Moment in 1:52.4. Shining Moment had not shown much gate speed lately and was saddled with post eight, but driver Mark Herschberger thought the front-end was the best place for him, and he was proven correct – despite being five-wide into the fist turn, three-wide to the 3/16, and two-wide to the 3/8, the pacer finally made the top, and did not relinquish his lead when favored Touchback came at him late, prevailing by a neck for trainer Bill “Moon” Mullin and owner Howard Taylor.

Fast-class pacers produced a rare 1:50f mile in late November in an $11,000 contest, as Belmont Shadow N, an altered son of Betterthancheddar, cleared on a backstretch move then stayed 1¼ lengths ahead of chalk Ignatius N in 1:50 flat. Mark Herschberger also had the winning steer behind this horse, now a winner of two of his last three for trainer Nifty Norman, whose Enzed Racing Stable Inc. shares ownership with the well-known horsemen Archie McNeil and Bill O’Donnell.

Simon Allard and meet leader Tim Tetrick both had three winners on the day and eight for the three-day week at Philly.

Harrah’s Philadelphia will now be dark for Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday so that all of the extended Philly family can enjoy their Thanksgiving holiday. Racing at Philly will resume on Sunday, November 30 (that card drawn Tuesday), with the $12,500 Championship of the popular series for $10,000 claiming pacers sharing the spotlight with a carryover into the fifth race Pick-5 wager. Free Philly program pages will be available at www.phha.org.

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

From the PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia