Pocono: Kakaley tallies for 7,000th time

Matt Kakaley, three-time defending dash-winning driving champion at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, recorded his 7,000th visit to the winner's circle as a driver when he guided Franzo to Victory Lane in the second race at the northeast Pennsylvania oval on Monday afternoon.

Horses whom Kakaley, 37, has driven have earned $117.4M for their owners, putting him 22nd on the all-time list of money-winning drivers, with many more years of success in front of him. Last year, horses he drove earned a personal yearly best of nearly $9.9 million, tenth-best figure in North America, and he was sixth on the continent with 539 victories, just below his personal high of 2023, when he triumphed 561 times. This year he is also tenth in North America in the driving earnings category. Kakaley has captured six driving crowns at Pocono during his career – four as the winningest driver and two UDR trophies.

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Racing resumes on Saturday at Pocono with a 1 p.m. card, headlined by the $50,000 Bobby Weiss Series Championship for 3-year-old pacing males in the tenth slot, with five of the eight entrants having two preliminary wins but nobody achieving a sweep of the three prelims. Their filly counterparts will have four $20,000 divisions of their Weiss's second leg, with three first-round winners going head-to-head-to-head in race four.

--edited press release (PHHA/Pocono)--