Developing horses and seasoned veterans shared the spotlight on Thursday (July 22) at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

The word “developing” applies to the four-year-old Trixton gelding Gerard better than it does to most horses: he had but one win in 40 starts as of May 1, but since then, he has won four times in his last eight starts, including a 1:55 mile in one of Thursday’s two $14,400 trots. Gerard went right to the top despite the outside post seven, yielded when favoured Victoriana brushed to the lead, then pulled out at head-stretch and surged to a 1-1/4-length victory. Gerard boosted his lifetime bankroll to $101,377 while equaling his lifetime best for trainer Jimi DeLucia and This N That Stable.

The other high-purse trot saw the Father Patrick mare Cocktails N Dreams go the mile of her life, negotiating a tough first-over route and still winning in 1:54.2, as fast as she’s ever gone. Todd McCarthy drove the winner of $139,609 for trainer Trish Adams and the ownership of Benjamin Gordon and Never Too Late Racing.

In a $13,000 fast-class trot contest, the Muscle Massive gelding Northern Express made two moves to control the pace, and then had enough to hold off a group of favoured closers — most notably runner-up Eva Dairpet FR — by a half length in 1:54. The winner of $210,625 was handled by Russell Foster for owner-trainer Arty Foster Jr.

Dexter Dunn drove four winners on the day, including two for Hall of Fame trainer Chuck Sylvester.

Youngsters will contest the feature races on the Friday (July 23) card, with a $12,600 contest for male pacers in race three, trotters in race nine, and female pacers in race 13. Program pages are available via the PHHA website.

(PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia)