Matt Kakaley earns 5,000th driving victory
At 0h42, on May 3, 2021 • By POCONO DOWNS
Driver Matt Kakaley, a “youthful veteran” of the sport at age 33, recorded the 5,000th victory of his career when he got Traffic Jam home first in the fourth race of Sunday’s (May 2) twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Kakaley let the Artiscape mare work her way to the lead at the quarter, rated the pace to the half, then kept her ahead of her pursuers for her second win of the year.
In addition to the 5,000 victories, horses driven by Kakaley have won over $81 million. Kakaley’s best year for victories came in 2011, when he was first 441 times, including 289 of them at Pocono. He guided the winners of over $9 million in 2017, including Kentucky Futurity winner Snowflake Hanover and three $100,000 wins with All Bets Off.
The Monday (May 3) card features a pair of $12,800 trotting contests for the highest-priced claimers at The Downs, with several recent winners looking to extend their current form streaks. Post time is 12:30 p.m.
