Wilkes-Barre, PA – The trotters and pacers took their first 2025 spins around the 5/8-mile oval at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday (Feb. 10) morning. The conditions were not prime (mid- to high-20s, and a “good” track rated at “+1” and later “+2”), but several horses showed they are ready to get the season underway, with the first card Saturday (Feb. 15) at 1 p.m.
Most impressive among the qualifiers was Virgo, an Always A Virgin gelding who concluded a fine 2024 with a 1:50.2 victory on closing day (Dec. 31) at Harrah’s Philly. He looks to extend his form into 2025, and off a front-stepping pacing mile of :30, :58, 1:26.2, and 1:54.1 he seems well on his way to that goal for owners Mark Jakubik and Jason Darling. Virgo is trained by Darren Taneyhill, who doubled along with conditioners Lou Pena and Joe Skowyra, and he was driven by Jim Pantaleano.
Pantaleano (seventh in the standings here last year and a two-time winner during this session) was the only driver outside of 2024’s top five dashwinners to get home first on Monday. Braxten Boyd and Anthony Napolitano each had three triumphs (ANap drove the fastest trotter, the Canadian returnee Frank The Elder, who won in 1:57.3). Meet champion Matt Kakaley had two wins, and Tyler Buter and George Napolitano Jr. each recorded a victory.
A set of six qualifiers was also drawn Monday to be raced right back here on Tuesday (Feb. 11) at 10 a.m. After this week, qualifiers will be held on Wednesday mornings.
The busy morning (into afternoon) on the Pocono backstretch also saw Saturday’s first program of the 2025 campaign drawn, with those horses entered for the 15-race card on the 15th starting the campaign at 1 p.m. The tenth race $25,000 fast-class feature pace gathers the kind of horses who could easily threaten 1:48 in summer weather – including Virgo, drawing the rail after winning his qualifier Monday.
Also on the Saturday card are seven $17,000 divisions of the popular Game Of Claims Pacing Series for horses with a base claiming price of $25,000 (progressing the next two weeks of the preliminaries). If past experience is any indication, horsemen will swarm to the claiming box in the preliminaries, trying to purchase sharp competitors who could take the $35,000 Championship on Saturday (March 8).
On Tuesday (Feb. 11) Pocono will hold the draw for the 1 p.m. card on Monday (Feb. 17). Pocono will race two programs a week in February, then add Tuesdays at 1 p.m. in March.
Free Pocono program pages, along with replays of the qualifying races, are or will be available at www.phha.org.