Wilkes-Barre, PA – Saturday (Nov. 17) was closing night for the 2018 harness racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with ceremonies honoring some of the top horses and horsemen of the meet sharing the spotlight with the C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series Eastern Regional Final #2.

The Billings purse was $12,000, but you’d have thought they were going for 100 times that as they were three-deep to a 27.4 quarter. Past that station, Winwood Scout, the favorite, kept On The Podium out in the 38-degree air, and the middle fractions of 57.2 and 1:27.2 were very demanding.

With the best seat in the house behind the battle up front, was driver David Offenberg and the Cantab Hall gelding Fiji, and when the outside horse melted back on the far turn, Fiji was ready to spring. Offenberg moved his horse outside at headstretch, but Winwood Scout was favored for good reason, and it took until the very last steps before “Dave The Rave” could nudge Fiji past the gallant Winwood Scout and driver Bob Davis, winning by the smallest possible margin in 1:57.1.

The equine honoree of the evening was Pocono Trotter of the Year Homicide Hunter, who locally won the Breeders Crown and set a world record for 1¼ miles in a year where he also became The World’s Fastest Trotter with his 1:48.4 mile at Lexington. Chris Oakes, the horse’s trainer and himself the winningest trainer of the year here three times, was on hand, and took part in the ceremony honoring his 20-year-old son Hunter Oakes, who took the award for top UTR with a sparkling rating of .556.

Rene Allard won his second straight training victory title and fifth in the last six years, finishing with 133 visits to Victory Lane, including two on closing night. Allard’s “handful” of training title ties him for the all-time lead at Pocono with a horseman whom some may have forgotten once had an active stable – George Napolitano Jr. (2001 and 2003-2006).

George Napolitano Jr was leading driver with 366 wins during the meet.  Curtis Salonick Photo

“George Nap” of course also had his turn in the spotlight, winning the crowns for driving victories (366) and UDR (.374). George has now been the top driving dashwinner at Pocono 12 times, including the last seven consecutive seasons, and he won the last race of the year with Feeling Cam Lucky to finish with the second-most victories at Pocono in a year, behind only his own record of 407 in 2015. George’s 10th UDR title at the mountain oval was his fifth in a row.

One trophy not given was “Most Driving Wins with $50+ Longshots,” if they did, Jim Taggart Jr. solidified his hold on this honor, guiding home Roll Away Joe to a $51.20 victory for his seventh of the meet, two ahead of Tom Jackson and Anthony Napolitano.

FINISHING LINES – It may have been Closing Night, but it appears that not too many stables will be shutting down for the year – there was $163,750 in claiming action on the last card of the meet, with nine horses changing hands.