Trainer Ron Burke harnessed his 416th and 417th winning charges of the year in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, sweeping the features with trotter Ladys Dude and pacer Enoch.
In the $20,000 high-level conditioned trot, the Victory Sam gelding Ladys Dude, who lost a two-race winning streak when he made a break last week, returned to his triumphant ways, overcoming a first-over trip in 0oC (32oF for fans south of the border) conditions to win by a neck over pacesetter B Yoyo in 1:53.
Andrew McCarthy handled sulky duty behind the career winner of $394,998 for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and Johnny Yoder.
It was much warmer – 34o – when earlier in the card the sophomore Panspacificflight gelding Enoch took a new mark of 1:51.4 while making every pole a winning one in an $18,000 “nw 7 races” pace.
Jim Marohn, Jr. had the winner of over $90,000 in this, his first season at the races, three lengths clear at the wire for the all-conquering Burke / Weaver-Bruscemi team, Phil Collura, and Frank Baldachino.
Ron Burke is the leading trainer at The Meadows (224) and Harrah’s Philadelphia (95), and his 98 wins at Pocono put him third behind Chris Oakes and Rene Allard – and then there are those 408 other wins he has scattered through North American raceways in 2016. Burke has one other distinction at Pocono – he is the leading trainer of horses paying $50 or more this season, with four bombers.
Burke and all the other Pocono horsemen get one more shot to add to their seasonal statistics this coming Saturday night at the mountain oval, with the first of 14 races on the last card of the year listed to go at 6:30 p.m.
(Pocono Downs)