Chester, PA — Hall of Fame driver David Miller, in his final start as an “East Coast regular” before moving back to Ohio, made a cameo visit to Harrah’s Philadelphia a successful farewell as he guided the Cattlewash sophomore gelding Tom Horn to his sixth straight victory in a $11,000 pace Sunday afternoon (Nov. 16).
Though heavily favored off the long win streak, Tom Horn had to work hard to win in 1:51.4 for trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable Inc., Bill Donovan, J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby, and his driver. The 3-year-old left for the pocket behind Divine Right in a :27.4 quarter, wound up third as Delray Beach moved in front near the :56.4 half, then launched an uncovered move later in the backstretch towards a 1:24.1 three-quarters.
Delray Beach proved resilient on the lead, and Divine Right made his presence felt up the inside, but Tom Horn dug in and prevailed by a half length over Delray Beach, with Divine Right just another neck back in third.
Miller returns to the Buckeye State after making Tom Horn his 14,818th winner (fifth all-time, behind Dave Palone, Tony Morgan, Aaron Merriman and Hervé Filion), and with a money total of $298,789,894, which should grow and surpass John Campbell’s $299,892,141 record sometime nearing spring.
Top purses of the day were $12,000, offered to two divisions of developing younger pacing males, with both races timed in 1:54. Pacesetting Tonto Returns made his lead stand up late against favored first-over War No More, who finished a length behind the winner, as the triumphant Fort Knox gelding took his fourth victory in succession for driver Simon Allard, trainer Per Engblom, and the partnership of Evans Nation, Engblom Stable LLC, and Hickory Hollow Stables.
RJs Red Devil, a recent winner in a $150,000 Massachusetts Breeders Stakes championship, also stopped the timer in 1:54, coming first-up and still leaving Twin B Fresh Bet, the horse who trailed the winner’s cover, 1-1/4 lengths back. Tim Tetrick was in the sulky for trainer Travis Alexander and Fiddler’s Creek Stables LLC.
The winning drivers in the biggest purse races also had the only multiple-win days. The meet leader, Tim Tetrick, had three successes, including a 1:51.1 victory with Jack’s Shadow N that stood as the fastest time of the day, and Simon Allard visited the winner’s circle twice.
Racing at Harrah’s Philadelphia will follow its regular fall schedule this coming week: Thursday and Friday at 12:25 p.m. and Sunday at 12:40 p.m. Thursday’s (Nov. 20) card will feature a carryover into the Pick-5 (races 5-9); Friday’s (Nov. 21) program will find the last chance for claiming pacers to make their way into their series championship, with multiple divisions (and some claiming) likely. Philly will be dark for live racing on Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday (November 27 and 28), then will resume on Sunday, November 30, the day of the $12,500 claiming series final.
Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.