from harness publicists across North America

Friday’s (Aug. 1) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Harrah’s Philadelphia, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, The Meadows, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs.

Regil Elektra wins Friday feature in Philadelphia

Chester, PA — The Friday feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia was a winners over $25,000 lifetime pace for fillies and mares. The public pledged their support to last week’s winner, Summertime Lea, despite the post shift from number one to number eight.

As the gate opened, the favorite left fast, but so did others to her inside. Fred Monteleone’s Regil Elektra emerged with the lead, but was cleared by Summertime Lea after a fast opening quarter of :26.2.

The favorite continued with the lead, putting away a mild challenge from the first over Royal Cee Cee N. In the stretch, driver Brett Miller sent Regil Elektra out for the drive and she outdueled a game Summertime Lea down the stretch, completing the mile in 1:51.3.

Regil Elektra now has 15 career wins in just 42 starts, pushing her earnings above $300,000. She is trained by Monte Gelrod.

— Harrah’s Philadelphia

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Traverse Seelster made his second ever trip to Saratoga Casino and Raceway on Friday night and the talented trotter moved his record to two-for-two in the local Open. The Amber Buter-trained 6-year-old had to contend with post eight for his second try in the Saratoga Open. Leading driver Billy Dobson marched Traverse Seelster (Angus Hall) out early and got away fourth in the $17,000 Open Trot. The 6-5 favorite then moved first over at the half-mile pole and battled rival Count Speed (Wally Hennessey) for almost an entire lap before putting him away around the final turn and drawing off to an open length win in 1:55.2. It was the ninth victory of the year for Traverse Seelster who is owned by Keith Pippi. Just Make Believe (Stephane Bouchard) was the runner-up in the Open for the third consecutive week while Slugfest (Jay Randall) came on to finish third.

The Meadows
Trailing by five lengths at the half, Southern Allie followed cover and charged through the lane to capture his second straight victory in Friday’s $15,000 Winners Over $10,000 Life Pace at The Meadows. When Odin Blue Chip moved first over after the leader, Pop Cop, Southern Allie followed and was stronger in the stretch, downing his game rival by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:51. Brooklyn Flight finished third. Eric Ledford piloted Southern Allie, a 7-year-old Allie’s Western-Pershing Angela gelding, for trainer Randy Bendis. Tom Pollack, Jack Piatt II and R. Lewis Hauber campaign Southern Allie, who extended his career bankroll to $723,154. Dave Palone drove three winners on the 15-race card.

Tioga Downs
A powerful :26.2 third quarter propelled Michael Pagonas’ Inittowinafortune ($4.20) to back-to-back Open class wins at Tioga Downs, taking the $14,000 Fillies and Mares Open on Friday evening by a geared down three lengths. The 4-year-old Cams Fortune mare controlled the terms from the outset, pushing clear of Oceans Motion (Chuck Connor Jr.) through a :27.1 first quarter before relaxing the pace into the clubhouse turn. On the backstretch, Inittowinafortune accelerated in earnest, but Oceans Motion did well to keep pace through the taxing third quarter, at which point Inittowinafortune was driven clear to a three length advantage at the head of the stretch. The lead expanded to nearly five lengths with 100 yards to go, but Inittowinafortune was geared down late for a comfortable 1:52 win. Oceans Motion held second off a chasing effort, while Elleofnxample (Brandon Simpson) sustained a mild late bid to take third. Aaron Byron handled the driving duties aboard Inittowinafortune for trainer Michael Russo. The win was one of four on the night for Byron, while leading driver Jim Marohn Jr. scored his fourth consecutive Tioga hat trick.

Vernon Downs
Evil Urges (Cash Hall-Siren Hall) rode an aggressive move on the far turn to victory in the $10,000 featured race at Vernon Downs on Friday night. The gelding, driven by Jimmy Whittemore, was first-over moving past the half-mile mark and moved alongside the leader, My Revenuer (John MacDonald), on the turn. Evil Urges assumed the lead at the top of the stretch and was able to withstand the charge of Jaipur (Fern Paquet Jr.), who had followed the live cover provided by the winner in the mid-section of the race. Pollux Blue Chip (Claude Huckabone III) split horses aggressively in the stretch to get up for third. My Revenuer faded out to last after setting the pace for the majority of the race. The fractional times were :27.4 for the quarter, :57.3 for the half, 1:26.1 for three-quarters, and a final time of 1:54.2. The complete order of finish was Evil Urges, Jaipur, Pollux Blue Chip, Mr Web Page, Lucid Thoughts, and My Revenuer. Ilovemymommy was a scratch (sick). Evil Urges is owned by Homer Hochstetler and Robert Buddig. Hochstetler doubles as the trainer. The sixth race of the evening also featured an interesting development concerning the claim of Oaklea Tyson (Angus Hall-Bronx Bombshell). There were 19 different claims put in on the gelding at the claiming price of $4,500. The winning claim was made by owner Tony Lioto and trainer Barry Dodge. In addition to the 19 claims on Oaklea Tyson, Majestic Lad (Majestic Victory-Bolero Crystal) was claimed out of the sixth race by owner-trainer Mary Beth Fisher.