First Draw held at Pocono
At 0h01, on February 14, 2024 • By POCONO DOWNS
This Saturday’s (Feb. 17) opening card of the 2024 harness racing season at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania was drawn on Monday (Feb. 12). There will be twelve races for the trotters and pacers in the curtainraiser, with the first set to go at 1 p.m.
The top purse of the day, $16,500, is offered twice, in races three and ten. The first feature will be a starter allowance for claiming pacers, with some eyeing upcoming competition in the Game of Claims Series, which begins on Saturday, March 2. (The Game of Claims is the reason Pocono offers starter allowances the first two weeks, so that owners who bore the expense of laying off a horse during the winter do not lose their “fresh” horse right away after their “vacation” investment.)
The tenth race is a high-level conditioned pace for a field of eight, with the inside five invading from Yonkers. Billy Clyde, who won in 1:48 last year at The Meadowlands and who took his mark of 1:47.3 at that Jersey oval, faces a bit easier competition than he did in Gotham and should be very competitive for trainer Ray Schnittker and driver Mark MacDonald from post two.
