Tarpon Springs S won his initial United States start after being shipped over from Sweden, taking the $17,143 conditioned trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Sunday, Dec. 22.
 
It was a chilly Sunday in Philly, but driver Corey Callahan remained cool under pressure, sticking to the rail with the favourite as an outside tier formed to challenge the leader, Unique Wedding (Wayne Long). Callahan and Tarpon Springs S eventually shifted to a third-over position and, at the three-quarter mark, moved three-wide, looking strong and full of trot. Despite being three-deep around the final turn and receiving only light urging from Callahan, Tarpon Springs S steadily gained ground, overtaking the leader and winning by 1-1/2 lengths in a time of 1:59.

Tarpon Springs S is an Uncle Lasse-Classification five-year-old gelding trained by Joe Bongiorno for the partnership of Robert Weinstein, Nicole DiConstanzo, Thomas Svensen and Nicklas Oestergaard-Andersen.
 
While Tarpon Springs S was one of seven favourites to win on Sunday, there were also two big longshot winners. One was Gatsby, a repeat surprise, who had previously won for $56 on Nov. 10 with a pocket trip. This time, driven by amateur driver Steve Reisenweaver, Gatsby went coast-to-coast to score a $111 victory, making him one of just three horses to win twice in 2024 with payouts of over $50. Another unexpected winner was Squadron Seelster, who stayed far off the hot early fractions before rallying late under driver Jack Pelling to score a $69 win, putting some extra holiday cash in the pockets of his scattered backers.

In addition to Reisenweaver's upset, other American Harness Drivers Club winners included Yogi Sheridan driving The Will To Play and Tony Beltrami in rein to Speed Snip.
 
On Tuesday, Dec. 24, there will be a live card starting at 12 p.m., with the USHWA Dan Patch divisional award winners to be announced via the signal broadcast starting around 11 a.m. 

After regularly scheduled cards on Friday, Dec. 27 at 12:25 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 29 at 12:40 p.m., the 2024 Philly action will end on Tuesday, Dec. 31, with the races starting at 4 p.m. 

(With files from PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia)