When you go into a card of racing having yearly statistics of a 36 percent win rate and a .487 UDR, it’s hard to improve on those current numbers, but that’s just what a hot Jason Bartlett did on a cold Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Bartlett won half of the races on the 14-race card on Feb. 22, and his “batting average” on the day was .603.

And to add to all that, Bartlett won the featured pace and five of the eight divisions of the first preliminary of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series for horses base-tagged at $35,714. (And one of those series winners was a $73.20 win shocker.)

The top-level pace, which sported a purse of $35,714, was won by the Stay Hungry gelding Brue Hanover, who made two moves to the lead through fractions of :27.2, :56.4, and 1:24, then had enough to withstand favoured Spring Inhis Step A, who couldn’t quite live up to his name after clearing up the Pocono Pike and came up a length shy in the 1:52.2 mile. Defending training champion Ron Burke conditions the winner of 385,090 for the ubiquitous Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.

Despite his sulky quintet in the $24,286 Game Of Claims Series races, Bartlett guided neither the fastest winner nor the one successful entrant who was claimed. Speed honours – in fact, the fastest clocking of the day – was the 1:52 scorcher in the near-freezing chill of another altered son of Stay Hungry, Lyons Surfing, who stormed home in :55.1 to win by almost 10 lengths for driver Anthony Napolitano, trainer Joe Bongiorno, and the partnership of Nicole Dicostanzo, Evans Nation, and Joseph Bongiorno LLC.

The only winner among the 10 horses claimed for a total of $357,142 on the day was the Art Major gelding Genius Man, now 4-for-5 in 2025 after overcoming the outside post under the guidance of Mark Herschberger in 1:53.4 while bidding adieu (at least temporarily) to trainer Michael Seddon and owner Jose Cervantes.

Just about everywhere else, Bartlett left his mark. The only trainer to double in the series action, Per Engblom, had both winners steered by Jason to open-length successes: Madelines Blk Jack, a gelded son of J K Endofanera who won in 1:52.4 for Jeff Fought Racing and Brian Carsey, and the American Ideal gelding Speedy Dominic A, who stopped the clock in 1:54.2 for Kapildeo Singh, Earl Hill Jr., and VIP Internet Stable LLC.

Two other Bartlett winners won in 1:54.2: the 35-1 Pet Rock gelding Levi, who had not raced since May 2 and who had not started before that since July 21, 2023, but was ready here for trainer Nicholas Devita and owner Eric Prevost, and Ostro Hanover, a Betterthancheddar gelding trained by Paul Blumenfeld for Boss Racing USA.

Bartlett got his fifth Game Of Claims winner with a Ron Burke trainee, the 1:54.4 winner Imstaynalive, a son of American Ideal who also races for Burke / Weaver Bruscemi and won by more than five here. Also gaining a first-round win was the Captaintreacherous gelding Captain Fancy, who controlled the pace in a 1:53.4 outing for driver Braxten Boyd, trainer Darren Taneyhill, and LAV Racing Stable Inc.

Pocono will be back in action Monday with a 1 p.m. card, topped by a $17,000 USD event for distaff pacers. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at phha.org.

(PHHA / Pocono)