Perfidious Crown was victorious in the featured $19,444 conditioned distaff pace at Harrah's Philadelphia on Friday, May 29 with a masterful drive by Anibal Borjas.

Borjas left very hard with the Tony Alagna-trained Perfidious Crown as the innermost of three swift starters, with Gala (Jonathan Ahle), the heavy favourite, between horses and Neils Diamond (Simon Allard) out widest. Gala backed off a bit as the other two went on, with Neils Diamond accepting the early pocket after a :27.1 opener. Gala then went up to challenge and Borjas and Perfidious Crown pushed a bit then yielded for the new golden seat.

Gala’s career earnings entering this race were more than $330,000 after a great freshman campaign in Kentucky and a 1:51 Pocono win in her seasonal bow. The front-stepping chalk reached the next two poles in :55.2 and 1:23.1, with Perfidious Crown continuing to stay connected as the opposition melted. 

Gala still had two lengths at the stretch call, but her arduous trip (forced to a degree by Borjas’s tactics) caught up with her just past mid-stretch, while Borjas and his mare never gave up and took the measure of the pacesetter by a neck to equal her mark of 1:51.1. The 6-1 shot returned $15.20 to win. Neils Diamond finishes 4-1/2 lengths behind in third.

Perfidious Crown, a four-year-old daughter of Tall Dark Stranger-Treacherous Reign improved her seasonal scorecard to 3-3-3 in a dozen starts and now has eight career victories with earnings passing the $150,000 mark for owners Let It Ride Stables of Boca Raton, Florida, Alagna Racing of Howell, New Jersey and and Big Als Stables of Woodbridge, Ont.

 A 43-year-old native of Guatemala best known for being an assistant to Alagna, has fewer than 80 driving victories in his limited sulky career, had doubles on Thursday and Friday at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

The $16,667 sub-class feature for developing distaffs went to the Bettors Wish-It Can Happen filly Bettor Be A Star in 1:51.4 for the New Jersey-based Ryder Stable – driver Patrick, trainer Chris, and the Ryder Stable ownership. Second and third in Pennsylvania stakes competition so far his year after ending her freshman campaign with starts in the Three Diamonds and Breeders Crown, Bettor Be A Wish came uncovered from fourth down the backstretch and did not let up the rest of the way, with her own back half in :54.4 while winning by 1-1/4 lengths over another daughter of Bettors Wish, Blazing Queen (Allard).

The $15,972 fast-class feature for mares was won by the Huntsville-Strut My Stuff mare Strutsville, who gave a gritty performance first-over to equal her mark of 1:52, giving Patrick Ryder another feature win. The Ron Coyne Jr. trainee, owned by Nancy Retzlaff and Douglas Stout of Camrose, Alta., smoked up raw while pacing her third quarter in :26.2 and gradually wore down two-moving pacesetter Absolute Power (George Napolitano) by a length.

Patrick Ryder and Troy Beyer had three driving victories on the card; two of Beyer’s were for 2025 Philly training champ Izzy Estrada, and two of Ryder’s trio were for his father, Chris. And Team Borjas/Alagna paraded back first twice, as mentioned.

Two divisions of the $13,000 USD fast-class pace top the Sunday menu at Harrah’s Philadelphia; the American Harness Drivers Club of amateur drivers will also be making their 2026 local bow on the 12:40 p.m. card.

(With files from PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia; photo of Perfidious Crown winning at The Meadowlands last year)