On Saturday night, trainer Chris Ryder, newly-elected to the U.S. Hall Of Fame, won a Breeders Crown race with the sensational mare Twin B Joe Fresh. There was no resting on laurels on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 27 at Harrah’s Philadelphia as Ryder sent out the Cattlewash-Lispatty freshman colt Master Of The House, who won the $15,625 featured pace at the southeast Pennsylvania oval in 1:54.
Ryder's son Patrick was in the bike and improved early position with the winner, then moved uncovered down the backstretch to go up and tackle pacesetting Lifeblood. In a two-horse breakaway Master Of The House proved the better by 1-1/2 lengths while breaking his maiden for owners Craig Henderson and Lawrence Minowitz.
A $15,278 claiming handicap pace for high-priced competition was co-featured on Sunday. The Western Terror gelding Oh Coffee Bean was percolating with pace down the backstretch for driver Tyler Miller and swept past hard-used rivals, then made his lead stand up to the wire in 1:52.4. Oh Coffee Bean, now a winner in three of his last four races and 20 times in 2023-2024, is trained by Julius Czermann Jr. for owner Hamid Breedlove.
Need Ur Opinion upped her lead as the winningest U.S.-based horse of 2024, with a sweep to the front before the three-quarters leading to a 1:52.1 triumph for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Dean Eckley (the meet leader) and owner Ameer Najor. The pacing mare with the winning ways had rung up 14 triumphs in Delaware by July 1 and now has 19 winner's circle visits in 33 starts during the campaign.
(The North American leader is the pacer Hugh Heff, who in a coincidence also had 14 wins in his first seasonal base, in Ontario, and then since going to Northside Downs in Nova Scotia has run off 10 straight at the track’s top level, making him 24-for-38 with a bit more than two months left in the year.)
Tim Tetrick furthered his lead atop the Harrah’s Philadelphia driving standings by posting a four-bagger.
The American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) competed in three $10,417 pacing divisions, which were won by Michael Shults with Bionic in 1:55, Raymond Burt in rein to A Stud Named Sam in 1:56.2 and Bruno Chiodo with 17-1 upsetter Lovethewayyoulie in 1:55.1.
Racing resumes at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 12:25 p.m. Friday’s card will have a special 2:30 p.m. post to try to catch some of the Breeders' Cup “crossover” crowd; that day and Sunday will feature the remaining races on both gaits in the John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes, with Friday showcasing two-year-old colts and Sunday’s 12:40 p.m. program highlighting three-year-old fillies.
(With files from PHHA / Harrah's Philadelphia)