A quartet of $12,600 races took top billing at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 1). The four contests produced no winning favourites, an unusual happening at Philly.

The section for pacing males provided the wildest action, as half the field left and one was parked three-wide to the eighth, and then the favourite was three-wide from just before the half. Neither of the horses covering this much extra real estate got the job done, but the winner, Arts Attitude, didn’t have it easy either – tucking early for driver Simon Allard, then pulling in front of the stands and having a horse to either side through three-quarters. But the Artspeak gelding showed rare determination, getting the job done in 1:56 for trainer Mark Akins and owner A 1 Racing.

In a handicap division for pacing fillies and mares, with horses with a higher number of wins starting outside, the Marced Card sophomore miss Marced Debutante worked out a good trip to spring a $49.20 upset while reducing her mark to 1:56.2. Luke Hanners was away quickly for good position with his filly, cleared on the far turn, swung wide and paced over her field for trainer Scott Di Domenico and the ownership of Triple D Stables Inc., and M G Stable Inc.

The team of driver Dexter Dunn, trainer Claude Huckabone III, and owner James Crawford IV got the second win of the afternoon when the Father Patrick three-year-old trotting filly Miss Cleopatrick brushed to the lead late in the backstretch and went on to win in 1:57.1, a clocking which equalled her lifetime mark, in one of the features for that gait.

In the other trotting section, the Andover Hall mare Doodle Hanover and driver Trae Porter worked out a good pocket trip, then sailed up the inside late to win in 1:57.4, a fifth shy of her best clocking. Joyce Lineweaver conditions the four-year-old for owner Calvin Hoover.

Dexter Dunn was the leading driver for the day with five victories, including the only two favourites on the day, both two-year-old colts trained by Nancy Takter: the Muscle Hill–Viva Las Lindy trotter Nomophobia, now a winner of two straight after reducing his mark to 1:57.4, and the Sweet Lou–Queen To Me pacer Snouze U Louze, who broke his maiden in 1:56.

A pair of $15,300 trots for horses endeavouring to work their way to the higher levels of the class ladder will be the featured performers on Harrah’s “Trottin’ Thursday” card, which begins at 12:40 p.m. Program pages are available on the PHHA website.

(With files from PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia)