Trotting superstar Arch Madness came through with a hard-fought win as the overwhelming favourite in the featured Open Trot on Friday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono
Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $60,000.
Fresh off a successful tour of Scandinavia and a record-setting win in the Titan Cup at The Meadowlands, Arch Madness, the seven-year-old gelding and pride of the Trond Smedshammer barn, was made the 1-9 favourite with the inside post in a field of seven. He sat in the middle of the pack as Winning Mister set the early pace, getting away with a relatively unhurried pace through the front stretch. Driver Tyler Buter decided to speed up the leader by sending Arch Madness first over. The gelding set his sights on Winning Mister in the stretch, getting up to win in the final strides in 1:52.1. Fast-closing Anders Bluestone came up to finish a neck back in second, with Winning Mister also just a neck back in third.
Owned by Marc Goldberg of Woodmere, New York and Willow Pond LLC of Hewlett, New York, Arch Madness, sired by Balanced Image, now has eight wins in nine tries this season. It was his 27th career victory, and his towering lifetime earnings now stand at $2,960,946.
(With files from Pocono Downs)