Harrah’s Philadelphia opener set for Friday

The draw is complete for the first racing card of 2025 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, which will take place on Friday (April 11) with a special evening post time of 6:30 p.m.

The feature is the $13,500 12th race trot. Furst Igor S, from the barn of hot trainer Per Engblom, has recently won at Yonkers, but he also has been having recent problems with holding stride. Three of his opponents show wins at Pocono among their lines.

The fast-class trotting feature, racing for $11,000 and slotted as race 10, has such strong Philly veterans as Mississippi Storm and Eurobond among the entries.

There will be another draw Wednesday (April 9) for the racing on Sunday (April 13).

Four-time defending driving champion Tim Tetrick is scheduled for opening night action, as is his perennial nemesis George Napolitano Jr., second in the standings at both Pocono and Philly last year and fighting for the top spot at the 2025 meet at Pocono already.

After opening night, Harrah’s Philly will go with a schedule through June of Thursday and Friday at 12:25 p.m. and Sunday at 12:40 p.m., with two exceptions: Easter Sunday (April 20), which will be a dark day, and Kentucky Derby Saturday (May 3), when a special noon card of live racing has been added to the schedule.