Wilkes-Barre, PA — The 2-year-old Pennsylvania-sired pacers take over the spotlight this weekend at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with four $30,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars event for females scheduled for Saturday (July 13) and the same number of sections for males carded for Sunday (July 14).

Ron Burke has 22 freshmen entered, with a dozen fillies on Saturday and 10 colts on Sunday. Burke will send out the favorite in one division of the fillies and two among the colts.

The miss who is the morning line favorite in her cut for Burke is the Sweet Lou–Breakheart Pass filly Shouldabeenatd, who won two of her three qualifiers at New Jersey’s Gaitway Farms, then was second in a Kindergarten Series leg at The Meadowlands, timed in 1:52.2.

Burke also has the second choice in this tenth race contest, Sweet Ace (Sweet Lou–One Ace Too Many), who makes her first purse start on Saturday after winning two Gaitway qualifiers, the faster in 1:54.3.

The filly entrants have among them four horses who have already posted a winning clocking of 1:55 or less, plus five more who have a victory in less than 1:56. Also entered is the Somebeachsomewhere–Wild West Show filly Rodeo Beach, who last Friday won a stakes race at Goshen despite suffering interference mid-race.

On the colt and gelding side, the Burke Brigade has the top two choices in the fifth race cut, the colt Lou’s Sweetrevenge (Sweet Lou–Before The Poison) and the gelding Caliber (Sweet Lou–Allstar Rating), both of whom were third in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes racing at The Meadows last Saturday.

Also in this section is the intriguing Captain Groovy (Captaintreacherous–Lets Groove Tonite), who won a Stallion Series contest at The Meadows in 1:52 — faster than any of the three Sire Stakes divisions.

The fastest of those Sire Stakes winners was Cattlewash, a Somebeachsomewhere–Road Bet colt, who won his race by 5-1/4 lengths in 1:52.1 while paying a very un-Burke-like $41.60. His main rival in their ninth race division appears to be Team Best (Somebeachsomewhere–Sports Chic), who won his betting bow in 1:53.2 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Among the four sections of colts, nine have already been under the finish line first in 1:55 or less, plus another three who show a victorious time less than 1:56.