Harrah's Philadelphia: Track celebrates 20th anniversary

Harrah's celebrated its 20th anniversary of harness racing on the banks of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania with a special Saturday night card, 20 years to the week of its first-ever program and 58 years to the week of the inaugural staging of the Colonial Trot at Liberty Bell Park on the northeast side of Philadelphia. (That first edition of the stake for 3-year-olds was won by Nevele Pride on the evening after the day card at Freehold yielded the sport's first millionaire, Cardigan Bay, both, of course, handled by the immortal Stanley Dancer).

The Colonial, which has had several homes since its last racing at Liberty Bell in 1985 (Piggvar winning and setting the track record), including at Harrah's Philadelphia, was thought to be an appropriate way to mark the historic occasion at Harrah's, and the revival race was won in emphatic fashion by the Captain Corey colt Jim Beam, a heavy favorite who trotted to an easy 1:53 2/5 victory.

Jim Marohn Jr. got the call behind the winner of $212,812 from trainer Scott Di Domenico, and after a bit of wide racing to get the lead in a 27 4/5 opener, Jim Beam had things smooth on the front-end with mid-splits of 56 2/5 and 1:25 2/5. Marohn Jr. got a 28 second last quarter out of the classy colt, who came back in six days after winning his Pennsylvania Sire Stakes consolation this past Sunday for owner Allen Wenc, and his margin over second-place Captain Vodka (a Jim Beam-"Vodka" exacta) was 1 1/2 lengths at the last call.

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There was also a revival of the filly companion event, which has had several names in its history and is now billed the Colonial Oaks, raced in two $30,000 divisions, both of which went faster than the previous stakes mark of 1:53.

In the quicker, Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion Little Road came right back six days after winning her crown and triumphed as she pleased, going fractions of 27 3/5, 56 2/5 and 1:24 1/5 before finishing 5 1/2 lengths clear in 1:52 1/5 under the direction of Brady Brown. The heavily-favored daughter of Fordham Road was bred and is owned and trained by 80-years-young Roger Hammer, who trained and drove 1995 Colonial divisional winner Keystone Galactic (at Foxboro!), and she now has a lifetime bankroll of $348,263.

Trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer, who likewise has a Colonial connection as the conditioner of 2007 divisional winner Primary AS here at Harrah's Philadelphia, also won handily with the favorite in the second Oaks section, as My Philomene is now three-for-four since moving to his barn after a 1:52 4/5 victory. Smedshammer had the Chapter Seven filly on the point early and put down opening numbers of 27 3/5 and 57 1/5, then tacked on matching 27 4/5 quarters coming home to win by 3 1/4 lengths for Melady Enterprises LLC.

While the big trots fell in the groove of usual mutuel payoffs, the $50,000 #Senditin Invitational pace continued a recent bizarre pattern - exemplified by the seven $50+ horses in the last four cards at a track with about a 50-50 favorite average - when Christopher Dance N upset the field at 13-1 in a wild and woolly 1:48 2/5 race.

Favored World Of Wishes (who suffered broken equipment), Christopher Dance N, and world champion Ruthless Hanover inside-to-outside got locked in a three-across 25 4/5 first quarter donnybrook, with the middle horse finally clearing under the line the first time and keeping Ruthless hung almost all the way to a withering 52 4/5 half. The new leader had to keep rolling as first-over Voukefalas, the second choice, moved up to the 1:20 1/5 three-quarters. That kind of speed took its toll, but least on the winner, a son of Sweet Lou who came up the inside and prevailed for driver Mark Herschberger, trainer Enrico Robinson, and Pollack Racing LLC., holding off a parked-the-mile, closing 28-1 Bourbon County (the top part of the third Superfecta carryover-causing race of the night, all paces) by a half-length.

Notable horsemen on the night were Simon Allard, who led drivers with three wins; driving doublers were Corey Callahan, Mark Herschberger, and Jack Pelling. Allard and Herschberger drove the winners of the only trainer who doubled on the night, Enrico Robinson. And we must mention trainer Ron Coyne Jr., who won a race Saturday with Benhope Rulz N - and who also won the very first race ever held at Harrah's Philadelphia, with Silver Flash, one of many replays of notable stars (Wiggle It Jiggleit, Market Share - the list is very long) and events over the last 20 years shown throughout the evening.

Harrah's Philadelphia will be dark on Sunday (September 13), a "normal" racing day, and will be back in action on "Trottin' Thursday" (September 17) at 12:25 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia)--