Wilkes-Barre, PA – In 2025 you are named Driver of the Year after recording over 800 victories and $16.7 million in earnings. You drive Tuesday night at Yonkers, win twice and hit the board on five other occasions.
So when you wake up Wednesday morning, and it’s barely 20 degrees outside, what do you do? If you’re Jason Bartlett, you motor to Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania and win four qualifying races!
Many of the horses in the Pocono morning session were prepping for the annual Weiss Series for three-year-olds, starting in early April. Among these sophomores, the quickest mile of the chilly session came from the pacer American Cheese, a Weiss-eligible American Ideal colt who blitzed home in :55.4 – :27 to win in 1:54.1 for Bartlett and trainer Jared Bako.
Fastest overall clocking was a remarkable 1:52 turned in by the Sweet Lou five-year-old gelding Sweet Beach Life, whose last race was also clocked in 1:52, with him winning an Open event at Yonkers back in October. Here Matt Kakaley sent Sweet Beach Life to the lead in :28, yielded to his Travis Alexander stablemate Howlenthehills but was back for the retake before the :56.1 half. Jackson Cooper pressed the winner uncovered to a 1:24 three-quarters, but Sweet Beach Life had enough in reserve to hold off an inside charge from Holwenthehills by 1½ lengths, with the same margin back to third-place Jackson Cooper.
On the trot, Bartlett combined with older performer Blackhawk Zette to overcome the outside post eight and win in 1:55.3, swiftest of the day for that gait, for trainer Bob Baggitt Jr., who shared conditioning honors on the day with two winners from his barn. The other trainer to win twice was Anette Lorentzon, both driven by Bartlett – three-year-olds Jewels Shadow AS and Captainforlife AS (unfortunately not Weiss-eligible).
Bartlett was given his Driver of the Year trophy at the USHWA Dan Patch Banquet in Florida in February; also going to the podium that night was driver Braxten Boyd as the Rising Star award winner (an honor Bartlett, by the way, captured in 2008). Boyd was right behind Bartlett Wednesday with three victories, including victory with two Weiss eligibles, trotting colt Dilly Hanover and trotting filly Shelooksgoodngreen.
The other Weiss eligible who won on Wednesday was the Always B Miki pacing colt Twin B Thriller, who came from last at the half in going on to win in 1:55.1 for driver George Napolitano Jr. and trainer Dennis A. Laterza. Twin B Thriller (and American Cheese) may be among the entrants when the Weiss Series competition kicks off with pacing colt action on Saturday, April 4.
Next Pocono program is Saturday at 1 p.m. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org; replays of the Wednesday qualifiers can also be found at that site.