Wilkes-Barre, PA – Trainer George Ducharme, long known for his prowess with trotting horses, swept the three features for diagonally-gaited horses on Tuesday (July 27) afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohawk Pennsylvania, where a constant soaking of rain rendering the sloppy track three seconds off for most of the card, including all the headliners.
Ducharme combined with owner Paul Fontaine, also no stranger to good horses, in winning the two $16,000 features for two-year-old trotters, one on each gait. Fontaine is the outright owner of the Captain Corey – One Margarita filly One Tequila, who came on strongly in the last quarter for driver Braxten Boyd to record a nose decision over favored pacesetter I’m A Hugger in a maiden mark of 1:56.4 (remember, freshman trotting fillies on a track three seconds off), with pocketsitter Eternal Light only a neck away from taking it all.
Thirteen years ago the Fontaine-co-owned Royalty For Life made a break on the first turn in his Earl Beal elimination at Pocono, then made a huge recovery to finish second. On Tuesday a horse Fontaine co-owns with Ducharme, Jim Winske, and Jason Ash, the Greenshoe – Island Lily gelding Inland Hanover, had a even bigger recovery from a first turn mishap, coming back to break his maiden in 1:58.3 after being last at the half and almost fourteen lengths out at the three quarters – and winning by five lengths for Matt Kakaley with a :28.1 kicker.
Braxten Boyd and Ducharme would again team in the $15,500 overnight feature for up-and-coming trotters, as another Captain Corey colt, the sophomore False Dogma, overcame being parked to the three eighths from post eight to roll on to a 1:54.2 victory, holding off Captain Micah while winning his second straight for Ducharme, Coyote Wynd Farms, and Joe Sbrocco.
There was also a $16,000 pace for freshman pacing males, taken by the Stay Hungry – Continualou colt Lions Not Sheep in 1:56.2 for his first triumph. A trifle fumbly nearing the quarter, Lions Not Sheep was moved raw by driver Ridge Warren with five eighths to go, yet he still could roar home identical :27.4 back quarters to head In One Fell Swoop for trainer Nicholas Devita and the partnership of David Hamm, Glenn Phillips, and Pit Bull Stable LLC.
2026 Dan Patch Rising Star Award winner Braxten Boyd drove five winners on the Tuesday program, with as mentioned the two for trainer Ducharme; as mentioned, Matt Kakaley had the other success story for Ducharme among his own three winners. Ridge Warren bagged a pair of victories.
There will next be live pari-mutuel racing at Pocono Downs this Saturday (August 1) at 1 p.m., with the high-class features carded almost wall-to-wall for the card, and a carryover into the last race High 5 wager. Remember that Pocono will not be racing any more 5 p.m. Sunday twilight cards starting this Sunday (August 2), and the next racing after Saturday will take place on Monday at 1 p.m., with exciting Pennsylvania 2-year-old pacing males contesting $231,892 of second preliminary round Sire Stakes and Stallion Series racing. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.