Wilkes-Barre, PA – An invader from Kentucky, Bank On Me, had to trot his last half in :55.2 uncovered, but the Chapter Seven three-year-old gelding was up to the challenge and recorded a 1:55 victory in the $17,500 feature on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
The speedy finish came on a fairly-warm-for-Pocono-in-November day that allowed for fast halves and quarters – usually off the pace, but occasionally coming from speed duels.
Bank On Me was moved raw from mid-pack at the half by driver Ridge Warren and never took a backward step, wearing down pacesetting Chuckthemillionair by a neck. Nifty Norman assumed local handling upon the filly’s travel northeast as she won impressively for Pinske Stables, Enzed Racing Stable Inc., and Lizanne Waples.
Perhaps the most impressive mile of the day was turned in by another trotter, the Quebec-bred Wheeling N Dealin gelding Kinnder Thinktwice. “Kinnder” followed frontstepper Hand Dover Dan then motored home in :55.2 to go by the leader by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:52.2, equaling his mark in mid-November. Ridge Warren also had the steer behind Kinnder Thinktwice, who is co-owned by trainer Susan Marshall with John Marshall.
Top purse on the pace on Saturday was $16,500, offered as was the feature trot for developing horses. In it, the Tom Hill gelding Moneyhill GB remained undefeated after two U.S. starts while lowering his mark to 1:51.3. Not too many Scottish-bred horses make it to these shores, but Moneyhill GB may cause a wave of investigation into the land of the kilt as he flashed home in :54.3, and needed all of that speed to defeat pylon shooting Chief Bogo by a nose for driver Tyler Buter and trainer-owner Robert Cleary.
The $16,000 claiming handicap pace saw the Huntsville gelding Prospectors Gold find lively cover and went on to be victorious by 1-1/2 lengths over the horse on his back, Thunder Hunter Joe, in 1:52. Braxten Boyd drove the 11-time winner in 2025 for trainer Peter Pellegrino and owner Gary Levine.
Feature winners Boyd, Buter (the meet leader), and Warren all doubled on the card, as did Anthony Napolitano, who bookended the afternoon.
Monday’s (Nov. 17) card at Pocono features the $20,000 Winter Is Coming Pacing Series Final, with no entrant winning during both preliminary legs of the event. Tuesday (Nov. 18) will feature the Winter Is Coming Trotting Series Championship, and then this coming Saturday (Nov. 22), will be the last card of the 2025 meet at Pocono. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.