Wilkes-Barre, PA – The stable of newly-elected Hall of Famer Åke Svanstedt, already sending out winners at a 35% clip at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, improved on that number during Tuesday afternoon’s (Oct. 27) card at The Downs with three victories from five starters (60%), including a victory by the Chapter Seven – I D Diana NO miss Kountry Irene in the top purse event of the day, a $16,000 event for 2-year-old trotting fillies.
Kountry Irene, who traces back in the third generation to the $3.5M+-winning champion Mr Muscleman, has had some decorum issues early in her career, but Tuesday she broke her maiden in fine style with a 1:57 victory. Kountry Irene quickly overcame the outside post to get the lead, yielded to the brushing favorite Pippa Hill and stalked her, then gradually put her away in the last stanza and won over the closer Queen Kate by 1-1/2 lengths. Trainer-driver Svanstedt is also co-owner of the filly with OBM Stable.
There were two $15,500 divisions of a conditioned trot for developing horses, with the faster cut producing a horse to watch in the Southwind Chrome sophomore filly Pony Chrome, a dynamic 1:53.1 winner. The talented diamondgaiter had won at Springfield twice, DuQuoin, and Delaware (OH) before recently being purchased by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Yannick Gingras, and FAC Racing LLC, and Pocono’s leading trainer Burke has combined with Pocono’s leading driver Tyler Buter to add two more wins onto the filly’s current streak, including Tuesday’s two-move triumph.
The other subfeature success went to the International Moni 3-year-old gelding Nose Jammer, now a 14-time winner in under two seasons of campaigning after a 1:56.1 victory. Nose Jammer proved to be a pocket rocket as he won by a length for trainer-driver Todd Schadel, also co-owner with wife Christine.
Åke Svanstedt was the only trainer with more than one win on the Tuesday Pocono card, driving two himself and using Tyler Buter for the other. Buter had four victories at all; Ridge Warren recorded a double.
There are 10 more racing days to go in the 2026 Pocono schedule before closing day of Saturday, Nov. 21. Racing at Pocono resumes on Saturday at 1 p.m.; among the highlights will be world champion Ruthless Hanover going for his third straight win in the $27,500 fast-class handicap pace; the first preliminary of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series for horses base-tagged at $10,000; and via simulcast the second day of the Breeders Cup Thoroughbred Championships. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.