Chester, PA – Enough fast-class pacers dropped in for the Sunday afternoon (May 31) card at Harrah’s Philadelphia that there could be two $13,000 divisions at the highest level, which were won by On Accident (1:49.4) and TH Colby (1:50.1).
On Accident had been close without winning in his last several starts, but today the second-choice Well Said gelding made the most of a pocket trip after favored pacesetter Captain Crusader A, pursuing his third straight win, put down fractions of :26.4, :55.2, and 1:22.1. On Accident was ready to go when driver Andrew McCarthy gave him his cue at the top of the lane and he went by the leader en route to a 1-1/4-lengths victory, which earned him a new mark at age 10 for trainer Timothy Lancaster, co-owner with Tony Casha.
Tim Tetrick finished second in that race, driving the pacesetter and getting caught by the pocket horse; in the other top-level event he reversed the trick, grabbing command early with the Papi Rob Hanover gelding TH Colby and then letting brushing favorite Hunting Zone take off the frontstepping duties with fractions of :27.2, :55.2, and 1:22.2. Hunting Zone played hard to catch, but the winner found an extra gear late to win by a head, with closer Sargeant Sonny just a neck away from taking it all. Ron Burke trains the winner for Burke Racing Stable Inc., Phil Collura, Lawrence Karr, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.
Another pacer took a mark of 1:49.4 on the card – Taranaki, a son of Huntsville, who won his second straight start by using two speed moves for driver Andrew McCarthy and trainer Paul Jessop, the latter co-owner with Laurie Molnar. Taranaki was sent off as the favorite in the $10,000 event for horses just below the top fast-class set.
In a $12,000 contest for developing pacers, the Perfect Sting sophomore gelding Everlast Sting Deo, also favored, enjoyed a switch from Jersey stakes horses, throwing successive :27.1 back panels while on the lead to reduce his mark to 1:51. Tim Tetrick guided the Travis Alexander trainee for Morrison Racing Stable.
Tetrick “swept” the late Pick 3 on Sunday, and his three-bagger headed the drivers; Simon Allard and Andrew McCarthy succeeded twice. Fourteen different trainers sent out winning horses.
The next pari-mutuel action at Harrah’s Philadelphia will be on “Trottin’ Thursday” (June 4) at 12:25 p.m., with diagonally-gaited horses both established and oncoming set to race. There will be a highlight on Tuesday morning (June 2) during the qualifying races, however: trainer Brett Pelling has entered four 2-year-olds, the first babies locally in 2026, and the quartet will learn and compete against each other in the fifth and final qualifier.
Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.