In addition to the many 'extra-racing' features and highlights to be found during this Saturday’s Kentucky Derby Day celebration at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, there is plenty of good live harness racing, with high-class events on both the morning/afternoon and evening cards.

During the sunshine, the feature will be four divisions of the $128,000 Pennsylvania All-Stars event for Keystone-sired sophomore trotting colts. The All-Stars races have been traditionally held around midyear (where indeed this year’s two-year-old races will be contested), but with the stakes competition a little lighter in the spring and many horses preparing for races on July 3’s Sun Stakes Saturday and beyond, it was thought to bring the three-year-old events forward this year.

There are already six contestants through the four cuts who have speed marks of 1:55 or better, the fastest, 1:53.3, belonging to the appropriately-named Whom Shall I Fear, who is two-for-two this year for the all-conquering Team Takter, and who will start from post five in the tenth race fourth division.

The biggest money winner in the All-Stars races at $164,040, and the second-fastest with a mark of 1:53.4, is Cruzado Dela Noche, starting from post three in race nine for trainer Nancy Johansson, trainer of 2014 Harness Horse of the Year JK Shesalady, in her seasonal debut.

The evening card on Derby Day has in recent years featured the $50,000 Van Rose Memorial Invitational Pace, honouring the late area sportswriter and handicapper. And if you had asked the (usually)-good-natured Van what were the odds that a race named in his honour would have a horse shipping to Pocono off a victory in a $529,000 race, he would have given you 100-1 – but that’s just the case in Saturday’s event, as the Levy Series Champion Domethatagain returns to his home base after taking North America’s richest harness race of 2015 to date last Saturday at Yonkers. Simon Allard will handle the horse, an upsetter of Captaintreacherous here in June last year, from post two for brother/trainer Rene, currently leading the local conditioning colony with a .420 UTR (and to think on Pocono opening night Ecurie Allard went 13-0-0-1!)

But Domethatagain will have plenty of tough opposition, including last year’s dominator of Pocono Invitationals, Dancin Yankee; former track and world record holder Bolt The Duer; 2013 Two-Year-Old Breeders Crown champ (held right here) Luck Be Withyou; and “the little horse that could,” Bandolito, coming off a 1:51 win at Harrington.

The first of Saturday’s 10 races on the early card will start at 11 a.m., with the All-Stars events the last four races, while the evening’s 12-race card will begin at 6:30 p.m. and shortly thereafter, depending on the Derby, with the Van Rose Memorial in the 10-slot.

(PHHA)