Younger, developing trotters took center stage during the initial card of the racing week at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon (July 6), contesting a pair of $12,600 events.
A monsoon hit southeast Pennsylvania just before the start of the last race, one of the two feature races. But the conditions didn’t faze the Father Patrick gelding Speed Away, who made his first 2022 start in trotting hopples a successful one. Todd McCarthy guided the Jonas Czernyson-trained winner cleverly, waiting to make his move from third until the three-quarters, then ducking back to the pylons when the pocket horse pulled soon thereafter and getting the victory up the inside in 1:55.3. Consus Racing Stable Inc. owns the winner.
It’s never surprising when Tim Tetrick brings home a winner at Philly. However, very few of them return $20.20 for a $2 win ticket as did the Donato Hanover sophomore gelding Bye For Now after he took a mark of 1:56 in the other feature. The three-year-old was parked to the three-eighths by Highgate before getting command, then saw that one come to try to take the lead back late, only to come up a nose shy as Bye For Now won for trainer Eric Ell and owners Ken Wood and Bill Dittmar Jr.
Admittance to the Harrah’s winners circle Wednesday was very restricted: 13 of the 14 races were won by drivers surnamed McCarthy, Miller, or Tetrick. Todd McCarthy won three times; Andy Miller won three races and his son Tyler won once (wife and mom Julie trained one for each). David Miller had a pair of successes and the meet’s leading driver Tim Tetrick checked home first four times.
Thursday’s (July 7) 12:40 p.m. (EDT) card at Philly will help answer the interesting question of just how far Bee Forever has developed. The son of two Horses of the Year in Muscle Hill-Bee A Magician has until recently been slow to find top form throughout his career (except for winning the Valley Victory at two). But on Thursday, the four-year-old will be going for his fifth-straight win and he’ll been facing some challenging opposition. Program pages are available at the PHHA website.
(PHHA / Harrah's Philadelphia)