When The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono created the $50,000 Van Rose Memorial Invitational Pace, honouring the late local handicapper and writer, it was said that Rose’s reaction might be “They named a $50,000 race after ME?”
Well, Van, guess what – this year it’s the $100,000 Van Rose Memorial Invitational Pace that will be featured on the evening portion of a Kentucky Derby Day doubleheader this Saturday at The Downs, as 14 entrants resulted in the creation of two $50,000 divisions of the Van Rose Pace.
The credentials these horses are bringing to Pocono on Saturday are simply outstanding. Consider these collective achievements of the fourteen fast pacers:
- Combined lifetime earnings of $13,994,142, or an average of $999,581 per horse; with two $2 million+ winners (Mach It So and Christen Me N) and four additional $1 million winners (Boston Red Rocks, Wakizashi Hanover, Keystone Velocity, and Rockin Ron);
- An average speed mark of 1:48.3;
- Four of the finalists from 2018’s richest race to date, April 21’s $532,000 Levy Final at Yonkers, including the winner, Keystone Velocity, the richest horse of 2018 in North America, out of the barn of local trainer Rene Allard, a successful defender of his 2017 Levy championship, the 2017 Franklin champion at Pocono, and the Older Pacer of the Year last season;
- Four of the Levy Consolation starters, including the winner, Always At My Place, whose 1:47.2 mile here in 2015 still stands as the world record for four-year-old pacing geldings;
- Ten wins in the Levy preliminary legs from among the fields;
- The winner of the recent Whata Baron Series Final at The Meadowlands, Barimah A – who also just happens to be the defending Van Rose Memorial winner!
Here are the fields for the two Rose divisions; morning line and final drivers should be available tomorrow (Tuesday):
$50,000 Rose Pace – 1st division
1. Boston Red Rocks
2. Rodeo Romeo
3. Long Live Rock
4. Wakizashi Hanover
5. Always At My Place
6. Dr J Hanover
7. Barimah A
$50,000 Rose Pace – 2nd division
1. Keystone Velocity
2. Rockin Ron
3. Super Imposed N
4. Mach It So
5. Bettor Memories
6. Christen Me N
7. Rockeyed Optimist
The Saturday evening card at Pocono will also feature the four $30,000 Championships of the Bobby Weiss Series, with the top point winners in the four preliminaries earning their way to their respective finals.
Here’s a brief overview of those races:
6th race, trotting females: Weiss preliminaries won by entrants: 11; three-time winner and fastest winner, I M Fishin, 1:56; summary in a sentence: After a break in her first prelim, I M Fishin has rattled off three straight on the front end, and is the mare to beat.
8th race, trotting males: Weiss preliminaries, 11; three-time winner, Chas Hanover; fastest winner, Archibald, 1:55.1; summary in a sentence: Archibald has two wins and two breaks; if he can’t mind his manners, there’s a lot of talent waiting to pick up the pieces.
11th race, pacing males: Weiss preliminaries, 10; three-time winner, I Soar Him First; fastest winner, Riggle Wealth, 1:50.3; summary in a sentence: After bad luck in the first two legs, Riggle Wealth has been raced on the front end in his last two and won; may face more speedy pressure here.
12th race, pacing females: Weiss preliminaries: 9; three-time winners: Kimberlee and Sharen Hanover; fastest winner, Sharen Hanover, 1:52.2; summary in a sentence: Kimberlee skipped a week but won all of her Weiss starts; Sharen Hanover has won her last three, and in dominating fashion.
The features on the afternoon card will be $15,000 Weiss Consolations for both groups of trotters (the pacing events did not fill). These races will go as the Late Double on the 10-race card that is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.; after a break for the Derby, the night time equine fireworks will be beginning at 7:30 p.m.
(PHHA/Pocono)