Take Your Pick seized control early and never looked back, turning away a determined challenge to capture the $24,286 featured mares pace on a mild Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
Bee Okay A (Ridge Warren) pushed 3-5 favourite Take Your Pick through a sharp :27.1 opening quarter before yielding the lead. From there, George Napolitano Jr., who notched five wins on the 15-race card, was able to slow the tempo to a :56.3 half. The pace picked up in the third quarter with a tailwind, but Bee Okay A made a costly break in mid-stretch. That allowed Kiss My Cheek (Tyler Buter), who had been sitting third, to slip into the pocket before the 1:24.3 three-quarter mark and tip out for the stretch drive. The race came down to these two, but Take Your Pick dug in gamely to fend off her rival by a neck, stopping the clock in 1:53.3. Gingertree Carilin (Simon Allard) rallied to finish third.

Take Your Pick, a five-year-old daughter of JK Endofanera out of Intelligence, is trained by Jeff Cullipher for Pollack Racing LLC. The victory marked her third win in her last four starts, boosting her seasonal earnings to $32,257.
 
Chapolier, a Chapter Seven–Holier Than Thou gelding, became the first horse to double up at the meet, scoring a victory for driver Simon Allard, trainer Mark Akins, and owner A1 Racing. He stopped the clock in 1:55.3, a significant improvement from his 2:02 win in harsh weather conditions last time out. The veteran was also claimed out of this $22,857 event for $35,714.
 
In a $21,429 claiming handicap trot, the Whom Shall I Fear-Funny Fashion gelding Kaboomski seized control, passing the stands for the first time and powered away to a commanding victory in 1:58.1. Tyler Buter guided the winner for trainer Kevin Reynolds Jr., who co-owns with Kevin Reynolds.
 
A conditioned group of trotters raced for $21,429 and driver Tyler Buter won this event as well with Waverly Hanover, a daughter of Swan For All out of Wishful Me, who scored in 1:57.3. Waverly Hanover sat in the pocket behind front front-stepping Craft Made (Braxten Boyd), then caught that rival late to earn the half-length victory for trainer and owner Todd Buter. 
 
Starting in March, Pocono will shift to a Saturday-Monday-Tuesday racing schedule, with each card beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday's program features a fast-class pace for $25,000 USD, with Brue Hanover and Spring Inhis Step A, joined by the double millionaire Charlie May. Additionally, there will be seven $17,000 USD divisions of the second preliminary of the Game Of Claims Series, with entrants valued at $27,500 USD this week. The fifth race looks to be the toughest, as it brings together three first-round winners, including Genius Man, the only first-round winner claimed out of his GOC contest.

(With files from PHHA/Pocono)