Wilkes-Barre, PA — The 10-year-old Explosive Matter gelding Rich And Miserable won for the 56th time in his distinguished career when he captured the $12,500 featured trot on a mild Tuesday afternoon (March 4) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, where he has captured exactly half of his lifetime victories.
Tyler Buter was in his usual spot behind Rich And Miserable, and he guided the veteran to the lead after favored College Tuition beat him off the gate, reaching the quarter in :28 before yielding the lead back to College Tuition, who put up middle fractions of :57 and 1:25.3 while a parked You Got It ground up to his wheel. While You Got It couldn’t quite get by, Rich And Miserable went to the Pocono Pike and defeated the pacesetter by a neck in 1:54.4, with You Got It only a length from taking it all.
Todd Buter trains the evergreen trotter, now a career winner of $864,694, for the partnership of Buter Farm Inc. and Lynette Buter.
In the $11,000 co-featured trot, the margin was again a neck, and the final clocking a tick faster at 1:54.3, with the Wheeling N Dealin ridgling Kinnder Thinktwice pouncing off a second-over trip to defeat stubborn two-mover Purple Lord, with Cassius Hanover beaten by just a length after setting the pace. Anthony Napolitano guided the winning favorite for trainer Susan Marshall, who shares ownership with John Marshall.
Seven sophomore pacing males eligible to their division of the Bobby Weiss Series, which starts on March 29, raced in a maiden pace, won impressively by the colt Federer, a son of Captaintreacherous out of a half sister to Captain Crunch, in his first start of the year and only his second lifetime purse race. Jack Pelling had the 3-year-old sixth at the half and then unleashed him to pace a :26.4 third quarter to get into contention. The pair pressed and then passed a breaking leader, then withstood the debuting favored Captain Conan by a half length while taking a maiden mark of 1:53.4. Jack’s father, Brett Pelling, trains the talented youngster and races him under his Pelling Racing LLC banner.
George Napolitano Jr. was the hot driver for the day with five victories, getting him to within two of meet leader Tyler Buter, who had three victories on the day and 10 in the three-day week. Peter Pellegrino was the card’s only conditioning doubler as he sits atop the training table in the meet’s early going.
Pocono next races on Saturday (March 8) at 1 p.m.; the $25,000 fast-class pace, with Spring Inhis Step A, Charlie May and Chase H Hanover among the field of seven, shares the spotlight with the final preliminary of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series for $30,000 horses this week, as the competitors look to earn spots in March 15’s $35,000 final and owners look for peaking horses to claim and compete in the final. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.