Drama Act showed superior ability in defeating a tough field in 1:49.4 to take the $25,000 mares fast-class pacing feature during the Sunday (July 31) card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Simon Allard was between horses during a torrid :26 opening quarter with Drama Act, letting Shes Pukka N go to the top after that point but quickly coming to take the lead and get a breather to a :55.2 half. From there, the daughter of Well Said was dominant, passing the three-quarters in 1:22.2 as first-over Easy To Please ducked into a vacated pocket, then holding that rival off by 2-1/2 lengths.
Ron Burke, Pocono’s leading trainer, completed a “Pennsylvania triple” over the weekend with the victory, winning The Adios at The Meadows Saturday afternoon and notching a victory at Harrah’s Philadelphia before Drama Act’s Sunday success at The Downs. She has earned $331,310 this year, and her lifetime scorecard reads 28 wins in 56 starts and $752,422 in earnings for The OK Corral.
There were a pair of $17,500 co-features; the one for trotters saw the Credit Winner gelding Dees Red Delicous winning for the second-straight time in a photo, here holding off Mystical Wynn by a neck in 1:54.1 for driver Jordan Stratton, trainer Travis Alexander, and Fiddler’s Creek Stables LLC. The pacing mare co-feature went to the Betting Line mare Milieu Hanover, exploding off cover to defeat Plzdontlietome by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:51.1 for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Nicholas Devita, and the partnership of Devita Racing Stable Inc., David Hamm, and Christopher Giaccio.
In $11,000 races for the American Harness Drivers Club’s amateur horsemen, owner-driver Dante Scattolini was first to parade a horse back to Victory Lane, winning with Spree in 1:57, while the other section saw owner-driver Bob Hechkoff and River Otter refuse to give up the lead and come home first in 1:55.1.
Marcus Miller had three victories on the card, the same number as successful favorites; this was a day of upsets in eastern Pennsylvania, as between Harrah’s and Pocono the chalk went only 5 for 27.
The racing week continues on Monday and Tuesday at The Downs, both cards will start at 1:30 p.m. Program pages are available at the PHHA website.
(PHHA / Pocono)