by Mike Tanner, Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack

Chester, PA — Fake Denario N paced the fastest mile in track history and Tarver Hanover scored a popular victory about an hour later as both captured second leg divisions of The Town Drunk late closer series at Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack on Sunday (Nov. 26).

Under the guidance of driver Ron Pierce, Fake Denario N moved strongly from fifth just after a :26.3 first quarter set by Armbro Balmoral to sweep into the lead entering the backstretch. From there, the race was essentially over, as Fake Denario clipped off fractions of :55.1 and 1:22.2 en route to a final clocking of 1:49.4, with John Adams two lengths behind in second and Art Director third.

The final time was the fastest in Harrah’s Chester’s brief history, and the first sub-1:50 mile at the new oval. Artistic Fella, the 2006 Meadowlands Pace champion, established the old mark of 1:50.1 on October 15.

“I had all the confidence in the world in this horse,” said Pierce. “We got away fifth and that was just perfect. He responded when I asked him to move and I just had to sit behind him. He was one of the better horses in New Zealand before coming to the United States.”

Fake Denario N is owned by Martin Scharf of Lawrence, N.Y., and is trained by Josh Green. Previously at Harrah’s Chester, Fake Denario N captured a division of the first leg of The Town Drunk on November 19.

Four races later, The Wiz Kids Stable’s Tarver Hanover went first-over nearing the second turn to wrest command and proceeded to a two length victory in 1:51.1 as the 6-5 betting favorite. Thin Blue Line overcame a bottled-up trip to grab second money, with Doggone Incredible third.

Winning driver Catello Manzi was enthused about Tarver Hanover’s performance.

“This is the first time that I’ve driven him and he’s nice to drive. He really looks after himself. As we came around the final turn, I wasn’t sure about how he was going to come home, but he responded really well.”

Trained by Roy Dinges, Tarver Hanover added $10,000 to his career bankroll, which now stands at $208,240.

Fake Denario N and Tarver Hanover are expected to square off in the $40,000 The Town Drunk final, which will be contested next Sunday, December 3, at Harrah’s Chester.