Tyler Buter recorded his 3,000th victory during a special Easter Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Buter rallied Daddy Let Me Drive into a :28.1 last quarter, closing furiously in the last sixteenth to be up right on the money.
The 33-year-old Buter, from a famous racing family, showed early talent in the sulky when he recorded his first win with I Luv My Pasture at the Gladwin, MI fair before his 17th birthday. Along the way to 3,000 wins and almost $35 million in sulky earnings, Buter had his best money year in 2015 when his mounts brought home over $5 million. His best year for visiting the winner's circle was 2007 when he won 444 times while driving at 30 different tracks, more than half being fairs in his native Michigan.
Tyler Buter was also able to rouse a huge last sixteenth out of Two Am to overhaul favoured Fearless Man late and take the $21,500 featured trot in 1:53.2. The Muscle Massive gelding made atonement for an uncharacteristic break last time when tucking to the pylons early and then coming on uncovered, rolling home a length to the good over the chalk while raising his earnings to $368,460 for trainer Todd Buter and the ownership of Buter Farm Inc., Lynette Buter, and William and Carol Fuhs.
The Chapter Seven miss Quincy Blue Chip trotted the fastest mile by a three-year-old filly anywhere in North America so far this year, as well as the fastest by any three-year-old on a five-eighths-mile track in 2019, when she took her seasonal debut in a lifetime best of 1:53.4 in one of two $17,000 co-featured events. Jim Morrill Jr. had the swift miss behind fast fractions of :27.2 and :55.3, moved out to challenge the pacesetter before the 1:24.2 three-quarters, then drew away from her field for trainer Gareth Dowse and Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc.
Shadow Cat had an adventurous journey in taking the $17,000 co-featured pace in 1:53. The Somebeachsomewhere gelding was looped out of the gate by JK Musicman and remained outside to continue onward, only to have to briefly dodge the leader as he went on a break. Shadow Cat hit the quarter in :26.1 while forcing main rival Tivo Hanover, who was carried wide early, into an open pocket and then went to the half in :57 and looked comfortable nearing the 1:25.3 third quarter.
But Shadow Cat suddenly took a bad step, with Tivo Hanover easing outside from the two-hole. However, the winner of $165,660 righted himself immediately, then dug in to hold off the surge of Tivo Hanover by a neck in a :27.2 last quarter for driver Jim Morrill Jr., trainer Jennifer Bongirono, and owners Howard Taylor, David Rovine Stable LLC, and Tom Lazarro.
The first of the 2019 $30,000 Weiss Series Championships takes place on the Monday, April 22 card at The Downs, with Ghosttothepost trying to complete a Weiss sweep after taking all three of her preliminaries. She’ll be handled by George Napolitano Jr. as she begins from post five in the nine-horse field of pacing distaffs.
(with files from PHHA)