Pocono: Saturday's season-opening card canceled

The brutal early-week snowstorm that attacked much of the country hit very hard in the Pocono Mountains / Wilkes Barre-Scranton area, dumping two feet of snow or more in some areas, and forcing The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono to cancel its first planned card of 2021, which was to go on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The racetrack and its environs could not be sufficiently cleared, and the track reworked to ensure the safety of the horses and people involved, forcing the cancellation.

The two cards of racing scheduled for next weekend, Saturday the 13th at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday the 14th at 5:00 p.m., will be held. Horsemen should declare their entrants by 9:00 a.m. Monday for the Saturday card and Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. for the Sunday program. The weekend will feature the opening preliminaries of the $495,000 Game Of Claims Pacing Series. Condition sheets are available here.

There will be qualifying races at The Downs on Monday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. Entries for the Monday qualifiers must be made by Saturday the 6th, and for Wednesday's Q by this coming Tuesday; the box for qualifiers for both days closes at 11 a.m.

Training over the renowned Pocono five-eighths-mile oval will be available on Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

--press release (PHHA/Pocono)--