from harness publicists across North America

Thursday’s (June 18) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Harrah’s Philadelphia and Saratoga Raceway.

Auspicious Hanover scores in Thursday feature at Philly

Chester, PA — A field of eight lined up for the featured event on a rainy Thursday afternoon (June 18) at Harrah’s Philadelphia. It was an upper-conditioned level trot going for a purse of $18,000. The heavy favorite was Thomas Cooke’s BWT Taj (Tim Tetrick). The 5-year-old son of Broadway Hall was coming off of an impressive win against easier in his last outing.

The favorite was able to secure a good early seat shortly after the start, landing in the three hole behind outside leavers. Long shot Pointe Of Honour (Brett Miller) had the lead at the quarter pole (:28.1), but was quickly passed by other speed. The first half (:56.2) saw several lead changes, including BWT Taj overtaking Calipari (Joe Bongiorno) heading towards three-quarters. The race favorite was immediately challenged by Chris Oakes trainee Auspicious Hanover (Yannick Gingras) at the three-quarter pole (1:25.3). These two entered the stretch on even terms, with the latter asserting himself in deep stretch to win by a length, stopping the clock in 1:54.3. BWT Taj held second, while long shot Lazurus (Marcus Miller) finished third. It was the seventh career win for Auspicious Hanover ($16.20), and the third this season. The 4-year-old son of Andover Hall is owned by Susan Oakes.

Live racing resumes on Friday with a post time of 12:40 p.m. There is a Pick-4 carryover of just over $3,000 heading into Friday’s program. The Pick-4 starts in race seven.

— Mike Bozich

Saratoga Casino and Raceway

Rock N Joe (Kilowatt) became a repeat winner in the Spa Spring Claiming Series at Saratoga Casino and Raceway on Thursday (June 18) evening. The 4-year-old pacer swooped the group in career best fashion to prevail in the series’ second leg. After getting claimed in leg one, Rock N Joe (Bruce Aldrich Jr) scored for his new connections by out-closing his rivals in the stretch following a three-wide journey. It was the third consecutive victory for Rock N Joe who will head into next week’s final as the only pacer capable of a series sweep following his 1:55.4 lifetime best score on Thursday. The other division of the series saw another pacer prevail for his new connections following a leg one claim. Regalwood (Stonebridge Regal) moved out to the early lead and never had an anxious moment before drawing away to a convincing victory in 1:55.3. The 5-year-old pacer, who was piloted by Austin Siegelman, punched his ticket to next week’s final for new trainer Don Sherman who co-owns with Jessica Roegner. Both leg two winners victories came by the exact same margin of 1-3/4 lengths. The series final for the pacers will take place on Saturday June 27 for a purse of $16,300. Leg two of the Spa Spring Claiming Series for trotters takes place on Friday night. Live racing continues on Friday at Saratoga with a first post time set for 6:45 p.m.