Wilkes Barre, PA – The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono opened on Saturday night (Feb. 8), the earliest seasonal start in the 55 years of racing at the track, but while the temperature hung around the freezing mark, the competition on the oval was hot, mainly in the first preliminary leg of two sections of the track’s Game Of Claims Pacing Series.

Action for horses entered at various claiming prices, with three preliminaries determining those who will race for the throne as their Game Of Claims divisional champion, provided two divisions of $25,000 base-price horses going for $25,000 each and three cuts of $15,000 base-price horses going for $15,000 (the base price in each grouping goes up slightly with each preliminary) opening night. With $50,000 and $30,000 Championship purses, respectively, it’s no surprise that a total of 18 horses were claimed in Saturday’s first round action, including four of the five divisional winners, for a total of $350,000.

This is My Song was the only Game Of Claims Series winner at Pocono on Saturday not claimed. Curtis Salonick Photo.

The only Game Of Claims winner on Saturday not changing barns will be the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding This Is My Song, who moved after a blistering half (:54.3), made the lead easily to the three-quarters, and defeated his field of $25,000 horses handily in 1:51.2, fastest mile of the opening card for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Dan Maier, and Racing To Win Stable. The other winner at that level was the Captaintreacherous ridgling Trente Deo, who never looked back for the brother team of trainer Rene and driver Simon Allard in 1:53.4, last half :55.4, for Allard Racing Inc. and Earl Hill Jr.

Team Allard also won the first division for the $15,000 horses, with the Delmarvalous gelding Machine Team benefiting from a fast pace to score a closing victory in 1:55.4 for A 1 Racing as the only Game Of Claims favorite to win. The other two sectors for $15,000 horses were taken by Darren Taneyhill-trained horses coming off two-month layoffs, and they won by a combined 14¼ lengths for driver Jim Morrill Jr. and owner Eric Prevost – the Cheyenne Rei gelding Cheyenne Reijane coming out of the pocket for a 7-1/2 length win in 1:53.3, and the Make My Day gelding Ancle on the engine to finish 6-3/4 lengths to the good in 1:54.1.

The 11-year-old Western Terror gelding Atta Boy Dan, 2019’s Pocono Pacer of the Year while posting a national high win total of 19 seasonal triumphs, readjusted quickly to northeast Pennsylvania, capturing a $14,000 conditioned pace in 1:51.4 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Peter Pellegrino, and owner Stephen Larkin. Rock Diamonds N did not want to surrender the early lead, so Buter put “Dan” in the pocket, then came again after the leader in the stretch and went by for a half-length triumph, the 73rd win of the pacer’s distinguished career while moving his lifetime bankroll to $974,002.