Ford notches 4,000th career training win

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Harness racing trainer Mark Ford sent out the 4000th winner of his training career, Sunday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono when He’s Electric took a new mark of 1:51.3 in the evening’s fourth race.

The 51-year-old Ford ranks seventh in the USTA’s list of all-time winning conditioners, and his $66.7M in earnings puts him in fifth.

A resident of Campbell Hall NY, Mark serves dually as a USTA Director from New York and as President of the SBOANJ. Three races after the milestone victory, Ford was already on the road to 5,000 when his Motive Hanover came horse first; both were driven by Tyler Buter.

The Roll With Joe mare Roll With Angel got the winner’s share of the $13,000 purse in the Sunday feature at The Downs after Crazy Cute, who was first in a blanket photo finish, drifted out in the stretch and caused interference, resulting in Crazy Cute’s being placed third.

Over a track rated “sloppy” after rain began midcard, Crazy Cute took full advantage of the rail to force tucks and get to the quarter in :27.1, then put up midsplits of :56.2 and 1:24.3. Pocketsitter Late Night Date A came out of the pocket to challenge late on the far turn, with Roll With Angel in the path behind her.

As Late Night Date A advanced on Crazy Cute, the pacesetter bore out, forcing Late Night Date A to be grabbed into and lose momentum; Roll With Angel also swung wider. Crazy Cute got to the wire first, with Roll With Angel (half a length behind the winner), Late Night Date A (also a half behind), and Galleria Gal (one length off), the last-named unaffected by the stretch incident, all just behind Crazy Cute.

A review of the last eighth showed Crazy Cute impeding Late Night Date A, for which she was placed third, elevating Roll With Angel to the top spot, and her 1:52.1 time an official lifetime best, for driver Anthony Napolitano, trainer John Mungillo, and the partnership of Finish Line Investors, Thatsideofthefence LLC, Jennifer Papiernik, and Lawrence Willer.

ROLL WITH ANGEL REPLAY

Bob Krivelin, the only recipient of USHWA’s Amateur Driver of the Year Award three times (2001, 2012, and 2014), went wire-to-wire with the gray Donato Hanover gelding Muay Hanover, winning this week’s American Harness Drivers Club amateur series race in 1:57.2 for trainer Dan Gill and owners Edward and James Hall Jr. Krivelin has now driven at least one winner for 26 seasons straight, giving him 224 in his career.

Pocono significantly widened its menu of multiple-horse bets starting with the Sunday card, and the benefits of the carryover provision in the new format were exhibited immediately upon their debut, with the first Pick 4, in the first four races, already bringing a $1372.32 carryover from the unsolved bet Saturday. Sunday’s first four winners paid $13.20, $86.60, $27.80, and $15.40, and unsurprisingly no ticket matched those four outsiders, so there was a double carryover of $8351.25 brought to the second Pick 4, races five through eight.

Pari-mutuel normalcy regained the upper hand in the second Pick 4’s races, with $10.00, $8.40, $4,00, and $4.60 winners prevailing. But those modestly-priced horses generated a $129.40 payoff for the Pick 4’s minimum 50-cent bet, which translates to $517.60 based on a $2 wager – a super payday for the smart bettors who cashed in.

Four $11,700 events for two-year-olds highlight Monday’s racing at Pocono, with one section for each sex/gait combination. Program pages for the 12:30 card are available at www.phha.org/downsmsppps.html and since longshots ruled at the end of the Sunday card as well, there will be a carryover into Monday’s Pick 4 in race 1, Pick 3 in race 4, Pick 5 in race 7, and Pentafecta in race 11.

From the PHHA/The Downs