Sun Stakes Saturday, with its more than $2 million USD in purses, will take place next Saturday, and based on the times turned in at the mountain oval Saturday – seven of 11 paces beating 1:50, and both trots under 1:53 – the record books may be altered more than once on the big card.

There were $23,288 features for developing horses on both gaits. The pacers were commanded by the Always B Miki-Night Music gelding Its Saturday Night, who might have gotten his time of day wrong but kept control over tenacious opposition in 1:49.4. Mark Herschberger wanted to set the pace with Its Saturday Night and did so, even with Lou Grant (Simon Allard) at his heels from before the half-mile pole, and the victorious gelding defeated that luckless opponent by a half-length to raise his lifetime earnings to $374,885. Nifty Norman conditions the winner, now with nine wins in 40 career starts, for Dune Road Stables LLC. Lous Starr (Fern Paquet Jr.) finished third.

Whiskey Lou took both her second straight win and a new mark of 1:52.4 in the companion top-level trot. The Illinois champion distaff, a daughter of Lous Legacy-Whisk Hanover, was directed to the top by Ridge Warren and didn’t have much trouble tallying, taking her lifetime record to an enviable 20-for-32 with earnings of $337,590 for trainer Todd Warren and owner Randy Witt. Seven Reps (George Napolitano Jr.) was 1-3/4 lengths back in second, followed by Kovu As (Anthony Napolitano) in third.

The $21,918 top claiming handicap pace went to the rampaging Bullville Stephano, now a winner of five of his last six and author of the fastest mile of the day, 1:49, pouncing from the pocket for Braxten Boyd. He won by a half-length over Gretzky The Great (Allard) with Hammering Hank (Anthony Napolitano) third. The son of Artiscape-Bullvillestephanie was claimed for $54,795 out of the race, the fifth straight race after which he has changed shedrows. Trainer Jared Bako and owner Dr. Joshua Tanis got a $10,959 purse and $8,219 in claiming price upgrade from their one week with the pacer. 

The features for fast-class horses offered a purse of $19,863. The trotting contest fell to Yonkers invader Cecil Hanover, a Chapter Seven-Columbia gelding who equalled his mark of 1:52.3 with identical back quarters of :28 for driver George Napolitano Jr. and trainer Åke Svanstedt, the latter a co-owner with S R F Stable, Midnight Sun Partners Inc., and Jorgen Sparredal.

Anthony Napolitano threw a pari-mutuel shocker in the fast-class pace as he brought the Huntsville-Upper Hand gelding Hurrikane Jonnyboy from last at the three-quarters to be along late in 1:49.3 for trainer Robert Lounsbury and owner William Damberg. Hurrikane Jonnyboy, the longest shot in the field, returned $93.60 to win, the third-highest price of 2025 at Pocono, and brought Anthony Napolitano's meet-leading total of $50+ horses to six. That number stood for 16 minutes, after which he rallied Rifleman to win in 1:49.4 and return $50.80 to win to his scattered backers for bomber number seven.

Three other winners who were part of the sub-1:50 brigade, all of whom took new marks, were Lucapelo A (1:49.1), Nineteenth Man A (1:49.3), and Captain Luffy (1:49.4).

$196,178 of stakes action for freshman trotting males will be featured on the Sunday twilight card at Pocono, which commences at 6 p.m. The two divisions of Pennsylvania Sire Stakes are headed by Mr Big Spender, looking for his third PaSS win in as many starts in the first division, and Rico Tubbs will look to accomplish the parallel feat in the Stallion Series. There will also be carryovers into the first-race Pick 4, the fourth-race Pick 3, and the fifth-race Pick 5 – not so extraordinary given the big-priced winners mentioned above.

And, again, we are coming up on the biggest day of the year at Pocono, Sun Stakes Saturday, with more than $2 million USD in purses, which will be taking place at the end of next week, August 16, and feature Grand Circuit three-year-olds plus Invitational horses.

(With files from PHHA/Pocono; photo of Its Saturday Night winning on Aug. 8)