Racing Roundup: Dancin Yankee collects another win at Pocono
July 26, 2014,from harness publicists across North America
Saturday’s (July 26) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Scioto Downs, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Tioga Downs, Running Aces, Batavia Downs, Vernon Downs and Kawartha Downs.
Dancin Yankee collects another win at Pocono
Wilkes-Barre, PA — Dancin Yankee earned his sixth win in a row against elite competition with a victory in Saturday night’s $25,000 Preferred Handicap Pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
Dancin Yankee (Yankee Cruiser-Dancewiththebest), a 6-year-old stallion trained by Amber Buter, was assigned the outside post in the field of six and was made the 3-5 favorite.
He settled fourth early as the lead changed hands three times. Driver Tyler Buter set him in motion on the backstretch and he corralled pacesetting Aracache Hanover at the top of the homestretch. Dancin Yankee then paced away to win by two lengths over Mach It So in 1:48.4. Bolt The Duer finished third.
The six-race winning streak of Dancin Yankee, owned by Rich Lombardo and Baron Racing Stable, includes four straight at Pocono. He now has 14 wins in 21 races this season, 38 lifetime victories, and career earnings of $900,962.
— Jim Beviglia
Scioto Downs
Royal Outlook was a mild upset winner in the $25,000 Open Pace at Scioto Downs in 1:52.1. Royal Outlook was driven by Jim Pantaleano for trainer Terry Deters. They started from post two in the field of seven and went off at odds of 6-1. Royal Outlook is a 7-year old gelded son of Royal Mattjesty out of Fresh Outlook. He’s owned by David Hudson. Pantaleano was in no hurry when the gates folded, getting away an early fifth. They sat in just long enough for the dust to settle. Artist Night and Chris Page cleared to the front just past the quarter, paced in a hot :26.1. Pantaleano tipped Royal Outlook before the half to start their chase, picking up cover from Full Code and Dan Noble. The half-mile was paced in a brisk :54.4. Artist Night and Page with first over pressure from Full Code led them on to the three-quarters in 1:23. Concert Ticket and Jeremy Smith were getting the perfect pocket ride at odds of 14-1 and were waiting for racing room. When the talented group hit the top of the stretch it was a blanket of horses coming from everywhere. In the end Royal Outlook got the nod by a neck over a late closing Roadside Delight and Ronnie Wrenn Jr. Concert Ticket was third. A mere 3-1/2 lengths covered the entire field. Royal Outlook returned $14.80 to win and contributed to an $85.00 exacta and a $496.60 trifecta. Driver Josh Sutton tallied six wins on the Saturday night 13-race card. Sutton started the night off on the right foot. He took race one with Riley Bow for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. He continued in race three with Real Future and followed up with Luv Struck in race four. Sutton took a little break, but he was far from done. He went gate-to-wire with JS Tango in race eight and came back in race ten with Sgt Grit for trainer Travion Jones. He finished the night just the way it started with a win. Sutton guided A Bay Bay to a victory for trainer Jim Arledge Jr.
Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Last Saturday night, Bet On Roulette (Bettor’s Delight) put up the fastest mile of the year at Saratoga Casino and Raceway behind a wire-to-wire victory in 1:51.3. This week, it was back into the Open Pace for the Paul Kelley trainee and it was back to the front end as well. Wally Hennessey piloted the 6-year-old pacer in the $17,000 Open and marched him out to the lead after starting from post five. Bet On Roulette never had an anxious moment on Saturday and recorded his second Open Pace score of the season. His win time of 1:52.2 wasn’t where it was last week, but he was equally as impressive in securing the Open victory. Ronny Bugatti (Austin Siegelman) closed for second while That Man Of Mine (Billy Dobson) finished third. Trainer Paul Kelley swept the two Opens this weekend as his Obrigado prevailed in Friday night’s Open Trot.
Tioga Downs
Taking full advantage of a cozy pocket trip, Wisenheimer ($8.10) found ample room up the inside to defeat Dough Dough in Saturday evening’s $14,000 Open Trot at Tioga Downs. The 5-year-old Revenue gelding achieved the early lead, but driver Jim Marohn Jr. quickly yielded to the pocket, allowing 6-5 favorite Dough Dough (Mike Simons) to handle the pacesetting duties. While I Love New York (Bruce Clarke) advanced two-wide to force a strong :57 middle half, Dough Dough accelerated to maintain her advantage. After reaching the three-quarter split in 1:24.4, Dough Dough was able to dismiss the challenge of I Love New York, but was softened up by the steady pressure. In the final hundred yards, Wisenheimer found room at the pegs to strike the front, prevailing by just over a neck in 1:53.4. Dough Dough held second, while House Money (Aaron Byron) sustained a three-wide bid off the far turn to take third. Jenny Melander leases and trains Wisenheimer, who is now a 13-time winner. The drive aboard Wisenheimer was one of three winners on the evening for Marohn, who again took top driving honors on the card.
Running Aces
Both Gerry Longo and Tim Maier scored driving triples on the Saturday night program at Running Aces, plus a pair of full sisters won back-to-back races, including the $11,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace. Longo made three consecutive trips to the winner’s circle in the second through fourth races. His success started with his own Kiss On The Lips who scored a 1:53.4 tally in a $6,000 conditioned race with optional $7,500 claimers. She bested Free Girl (Rick Magee) and Save My Dragon (Kody Massey). He also triumphed with Jenni King’s Caseofthesillies and John Rogers’ Razzle Be Dazzled. Caseofthesillies defeated distaff maidens Maidamess (Clark Whitney) and Whata Smoothie (Tim Maier) in 1:56.3 and Razzle Be Dazzled topped $4,000 claiming mares Lil Miss Nyalation (Rick Magee) and Blazin With Pride (Rob Dinning) in 1:56.2. Maier won the final three races of the card with full sisters Love Live Laugh and Diva Las Vegas, both owned by his wife Denise, and Pamela Buergi’s Fancy Too. Love Live Laugh managed a nose decision over Country Jewel (Nick Roland) and That’s Mara (Kim Pluta) in 1:53.1 in the night’s featured Open event. The top six finishers were all within two lengths at the finish in the hotly-contested event. Sister Diva Las Vegas, also a daughter of Hi Ho Silverheel’s out of the Little Steven mare Prettylittlerebel, beat Keystone Christa (Nick Roland) and Ha Jung (Jason Ryan) in a $4,500 race combining $5,000 claimers and conditioned mares. Fancy Too captured the nightcap, a $3,000 race for bottom conditioned mares, topping Britash Redcoat (Rob Dinning) and Five Stars Queen (Jason Ryan) in 1:56.4. Sandwiched between the two driving triples was a second straight impressive victory by the 2-year-old gelding URCutoff, who beat a full field of older horses in a non-winners of two race for a $4,500 purse. Owned and trained by Mark Anderson and driven by Lemoyne Svendsen, the colt stopped the timer in 1:55.4 to follow up on his 1:54.3 maiden voyage last week.
Batavia Downs
A solid field of seven Open pacers went postward in the Batavia Downs feature race Saturday night and the result was a double-digit payout for the savvy bettors. Western Alumni (Western Hanover-Countryview Miss) was the 4-1 morning line third choice and was coming off an Open class victory just last week at Buffalo Raceway. In fact, he has two wins and two seconds in that class in his last four starts, yet the 6-year-old gelding was allowed to go off as a 12-1 overlay. As the gate set the field free, Little Man Cam (Michael Whelan) opened up a quick six length lead that left the rest of the field following in post position order. After a :28 quarter, Best Ears (Shawn McDonough) pulled and heavily favored Spender Hanover (Drew Monti) followed as they hit the half in :57.1. Driver Jim McNeight still had Western Alumni seventh at the wood, saving ground around turn three. When they straightened out up the backside, McNeight got Western Alumni in gear and followed the live outer flow, third-over in a crisp 1:26 clip to the three-quarters. From that point McNeight tipped three-deep around the turn and fanned four wide in the stretch to out-battle the leaders and beat a fast closing Salazar (Ron Beback Jr.) by a neck in 1:55.2. Best Ears hung on to be third. Western Alumni paid $27.60 as he registered his sixth win of the year and the victory pushed his 2014 earnings to $48,370. North Creek Racing LLC own Western Alumni and he is trained by Jerry Nugent Jr.
Vernon Downs
Western Tsunami (Western Hanover-Rons Girl) rallied past the competition to extend his winning streak to four in the $6,500 featured pace at Vernon Downs on Saturday night. Donna’s Scape (Chris Lems) was the early pacesetter through a quarter in :27.2 and a half in :57. Once the field made the top of the stretch, however, there was a host of challengers to the leader. Western Tsunami had sat in mid-pack through the early stages, but got into the clear in the lane and charged past his rivals to win in a smart time of 1:52.3, courtesy of a well-timed drive by Roman Lopez. There was a dead-heat for the second position with Ashton Seelster (Gary Clark) and Moonlight Ransom (Jimmy Whittemore) involved. Western Tsunami is owned by Scott West and Katie Currie. Scott West is also the trainer. Claude Huckabone III was the driving star on the Saturday night program at Vernon Downs, winning three times. He scored in the third race with My Edward (Village Jolt-Undercover Woman), the fifth race with Pedro’s Dream (Dream Away-Twinkie Lo), and the ninth race with Willies Big Mac (Whelan Willie-Mac’s Only Iris).
Kawartha Downs
Jerry Robinson was a leading driver when Kawartha Downs opened 42 years ago and the cagey veteran still has the touch as he showed in Saturday night’s first race at the Fraserville oval. Robinson was up behind Galagher Seelster for trainer/owner Charlie Peake. Despite leaving from post eight, Robinson had his charge on top just past the half-mile marker and could not be caught from there, winning by more than six lengths in 1:57.2. It was the second straight win for Robinson and the 3-year-old Mister Big gelding who won last week, during the track’s anniversary celebration, in 1:55.2. Galagher Seelster has yet to be defeated as this was his second lifetime start. He is the second foal from the $110,986 winning Gold Not Silver.