Wilkes-Barre, PA – Drivers George Napolitano Jr. and Ridge Warren won three races each on a ten-race card at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Saturday (Aug. 2) afternoon, and between them accounted for all of the featured contests.
Biggest purse on offer was a $17,000 bounty contested by developing trotters and taken by Whiskey Lou, a Lou’s Legacy mare who was a dominant force in Illinois at two and three and who seems to be coming back around right now. Ridge Warren utilized the rail well to put everybody in behind and got soft fractions of :28.3, :57.4, and 1:26.3, then coaxed :27.2 speed out of the favored distaff late to hold off pocket horse Super Duper Cooper in the Pocono Pike, winning by a neck in 1:54. Todd Warren conditions the talented trotter for Randy Will.
Pacesetter Racing Rampage made the lead past a :26.1 initial fraction then put up tough splits of :54, and 1:21 in the $16,500 fast-class pace. He was just caught by first-over Congressional by a head in 1:48.3 but subsequently was elevated to first place when Congressional was found guilty of first-turn interference. Under the rules, Racing Rampage, a Racing Hill gelding with $560,887 in earnings, gets credit for the new lifetime mark of 1:48.3 for driver Warren, trainer Travis Alexander, and owners Darren Dowler and Lawrence Bettler.
The other two features required the photo camera to separate the two two finishers; such was not the case when Bullville Stephano won the $16,000 high-priced claiming handicap pace in 1:50.3 by 6-1/2 lengths. George Napolitano Jr. kept the sharp pacer midpack behind a white-hot early battle, swept the field with the son of Artiscape down the backstretch, and lengthened out at will. A winner of four of his last five, Bullville Stephano was claimed out of his last start by owners William Mullin and Howard Taylor, but his stay under the Herbert Lux III shedrow was short as he was claimed again; they can console themselves with $9,000 in elevated purchase price and an $8,000 purse, minus one week’s expenses.
Besides “George Nap” and Ridge Warren guiding three winners, doublers included the track’s leading driver Tyler Buter and trainers Travis Alexander, Joe Bongiorno, and Darren Taneyhill.
Two-year-old colt pacers will contest their second preliminaries in their respective Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Pennsylvania Stallion Series during the Sunday (Aug. 3) night card at Pocono, which starts at 6 p.m. Pocono’s biggest day of the year, the $2M+-plus Sun Stakes Saturday for top 3-year-olds and invitational horses, is being worked on constantly as its 2025 re day of Saturday, August 16 approaches.
Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.