Pocono: Beckwith's choice could lead to a great ending in Game of Claims

Saturday's $35,000 Game of Claims final at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania shapes up as a wildly competitive contest. Through three grueling elimination rounds and horses shifting from stable to stable, the resulting octet has half the field in different stables on Saturday than they represented just a week ago.

While there is never an assurance when a price tag is put on a horse that it will remain in one stable, for the betting public at least there's the potential that not all will change from week-to-week. For those looking for consistency, driver Brett Beckwith will add some confidence to the puzzle as he's chosen Greatest Ending (post five) from a choice of four finalists.

"Supplemental Fee's been racing well, but I'm going to stick with Greatest Ending," Beckwith said on Wednesday when final changes were made for Saturday's program.

Greatest Ending was in fact claimed away from trainer Darren Taneyhill following the victory on February 28 and now resides in trainer Maria Alvarez's stable.

"Darren had him very sharp last week," said Beckwith. "I hope Maria has him the same way."

Greatest Ending drew post five and was tabbed the 5-2 favorite off the strength of victories in the second and third preliminary legs of the series. Those two wins both came with Beckwith in the bike, with the top pilot working out a pocket trip in the February 21 1:52 4/5 win but then needing to go overland for last week's 1:51 dominant performance.

"That's not his best trip," said Beckwith of the first-over grind on February 28. "There wasn't much I could do, but he rose up and overcame the trip."

The return to Pennsylvania for Greatest Ending in 2026 comes three years after he did some of his best racing in this part of the country. Then under the care of Dr. Ian Moore, Greatest Ending captured the $200,000 Max Hempt Memorial first consolation as a sophomore. Later in his 3-year-old season he finished a solid fourth in the Breeders Crown to race winner Pebble Beach.

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It was as a 4-year-old that the then 20-year-old Beckwith first got to know the horse from the final crop of the legendary Somebeachsomewhere. Greatest Ending would find a home in the stable of Brett's mom Melissa, and Brett would guide the 4-year-old to a 1:50 3/5 career-equaling mark at Plainridge in July of 2024, his first start for the stable.

Greatest Ending, a 7-year-old gelding now, spent the better part of the last two years racing primarily in Ohio but returned to Pennsylvania for this series and has won three of his six starts on the year, which is exactly the number of wins he worked out a year ago in 30 trips to post.

Rum N Raisins (post four) has won two of his three preliminary legs and for the third straight week moves into a new stable, with Cory Stratton taking over the conditioning. Stratton too will retain a similar driver with Tyler Buter choosing Rum N Raisins to drive. Of the eight horses in Saturday's finale, only Rum N Raisins has managed to pace under 1:52 in all three preliminary legs, winning the fastest division in the first round (February 14) in 1:51 4/5 and then shaving a fifth of a second off that mark in last week's wire-to-wire victory with Buter in the bike. A 6-year-old by Custard The Dragon, Rum N Raisins has shown a preference for racing on the front-end in the series.

Ilderton AM (post one) has been consistent throughout the series finishing on the board in all three events and has the services of Pocono's perennial leading driver George Napolitano Jr. for the final. Dean Eckley trains the altered son of Captaintreacherous.

Twiggs Pub found the winner's circle for the first time this year during the last preliminary round, and it was what was necessary to qualify for the final. Trainer Marta Piotrow claimed Twiggs Pub following his second-leg third-place finish, and then had him sharp enough to track down horses and score in a career-best 1:51 clocking in the upset on February 28. Twiggs Pub landed post two with Anthony Napolitano in the bike.

Supplemental Fee, one of three horses Beckwith didn't choose, drew post eight, and that may not be enough to count him out of the potential winner's category for this contest. Claimed for the fourth straight week and now residing with trainer Joe Bongiorno, Supplemental Fee has been rock-solid for all the stables he's raced for throughout the series. In the third round, Supplemental Fee took plenty of air through a fast first fraction and then was put to intense pressure before weakening in the shadow of the wire. Colin Kelly gets the driving assignment on Saturday.

Rounding out the Game of Claims field are Dontlikeitleave (post three, Ridge Warren), Do Mischief (post six, Matt Kakaley) and D A McDreamy (post seven, Braxton Boyd).

First post is slated at 1:00 P.M. (ET) for a dozen races, with the Game of Claims final scheduled as race 10.