WILKES-BARRE, PA – On a warm April afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, harness racing driver Jim Pantaleano won three of Tuesday’s (April 4) five $20,000 divisions of the first preliminary leg of the Game Of Claims Trotting Series for $25,000 base-tag horses, including two horses trained by Scott Betts.
Manofmanymuscles and driver Jim Pantaleano (Curtis Salonick Photo)
Pantaleano/Betts produced the fastest GOC winner in the Muscle Massive gelding Manofmanymuscles, who led the entire last half in lowering his mark by two seconds to 1:54.2 for owner Timothy Betts.
MANOFMANYMUSCLES REPLAY
The trainer/driver team also posted a victory with Worthy Of Honor (Cantab Hall), who covered the mile in 1:56.3.
Pantaleano’s other winner was Nice Stuff (Yankee Glide), now two for three in 2023 after a 1:56.3 success for trainer Laura Angle. The other two GOC winners in the initial prelim were It’s A Horse (1:54.3 for a new mark while handled by Matt Kakaley, who led the drivers overall with four victories) and Elegant Dulupin FR (1:56.2, Mark MacDonald).
None of the five winners was claimed out of the first leg; in fact, there were only two horses who changed hands in the five races, although that total will likely grow in subsequent rounds now that owners and trainers have seen a Pocono race from the horses, many of whom shipped in from points throughout the eastern half of North America.
The Bobby Weiss Series for developing three-year-olds, named after the legendary longtime Pocono trackman, get underway with a bang on Pocono’s next card of action, Saturday at 1 p.m. The three-year-old pacing colts, who will have their preliminaries and Championship on Saturdays, go in five $20,000 divisions of their first prelim; also Saturday this week will be…

