Wilkes-Barre, PA — Five groups of 2-year-olds went postward for purses of $16,000 on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. The trotting fillies had two divisions; each of the other groups was featured in one race.
Perhaps the horse with the most pedigree potential was the trotting colt Oil Jack S, by Ready Cash out of Eddiction; the dam is out of Yankee Blondie, also the dam of champion Muscle Hill. Oil Jack S had made breaks in his first two purse starts, but he showed he is getting the hang of the game under the tutelage of Marcus Melander by taking the lead after the quarter then going on to a 1:57 victory, with :58.1-:28.4 back fractions. Braxten Boyd drove the intriguing prospect for Courant Inc., PCW Racing LLC and Kemppi Stables Oy Inc.
The faster featured trotting filly winner was Balara Bay (Greenshoe-Wind Stroll), who worked to the top in front of the stands the first time then continued on to her second victory, this one in 1:57.2 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nifty Norman, and owners Tony Holmes and June Zent.
This group’s other division was won by the Tactical Landing-Made It Happen miss I’m A Hugger, who had a wide lead through most of the back half then came home to post a maiden mark of 1:58.2 for driver Braxten Boyd, trainer Ray Schnittker, and the partnership of Daisy Acres and Vincent Ali Jr.
The Papi Rob Hanover-Happy Hannah pacing filly Happy Papi caught the eye as she won her section of the feature in 1:53 to lower her mark by over four seconds. She never looked back while coming home in :56.2-:27.4 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nicholas DeVita, and owner David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.
DeVita, Hamm and Phillips also were part of the braintrust behind the pacing colt Lions Not Sheep, who overcame an absence of 39 days to win off cover by a half length over first-up Captains Echo while reducing his mark to 1:55. Ridge Warren drove the son of Stay Hungry-Continualou, and Pit Bull Stable LLC is also in on his membership.
Drivers Braxten Boyd and Ridge Warren each came home first three times on the card; piloting two success stories were Tyler Buter, Anthony Napolitano, and Jim Pantaleano. DeVita’s sweep of the baby pacing features earned the only training double of the program.
Racing at Pocono resumes with a 1 p.m. card Saturday (Sept. 26) with the first of the season’s John Simpson Sr. Stakes, with each division named after a star with whom Simpson was associated during his Hall of Fame career; the 3-year-old pacing colts start off the 2026 series with the Albatross, which contains three $30,000 divisions. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.