by Jim Beviglia, Publicity Assistant, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Jim Taggart, Jr. drove Near The Limit to an Open Handicap trot victory at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on Wednesday afternoon, and his winning time of 1:54² broke the track record for 4-year old trotting geldings. The previous Pocono record was 1:55, shared by Bloodstock’s Sam and Ripped.

The son of Yankee Glide sat off the pace early, then started his move second-over on the backstretch. He moved three-wide at the top of the lane and then easily trotted by the pacesetter Calchips Muscle to win by several lengths.

Near The Limit, trained by James Quinn and owned by Donald Maiorano of Edison, New Jersey, notched his sixth win of 2006. Ironically the time fell short of his career best of 1:54¹, which was posted at the one-mile oval at the Meadowlands.