Delaware, OH – Loua Dipa and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. went to the front from post 1 and never looked back, winning Wednesday’s (Sept. 23) $240,000 Grade 1 Jugette final, for 3-year-old female pacers, by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53 over a track labeled good at the Delaware (Ohio) County Fair. Darlin’s Angel finished second and I’m A Lou Lou was third. Loua Dipa’s victory gave trainer Ron Burke his second consecutive win in the Jugette and extended his record for victories in the event to six. It was Wrenn’s first triumph in the race, and it came one year after he got his first Little Brown Jug trophy. After winning the Jugette’s first heat by a half length in 1:53.3 three races earlier, Loua Dipa notched her sixth victory in 10 starts this season by capturing the final. The homebred daughter of Sweet Lou -Looksgoodinaromper is owned by Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. She has won 15 of 23 career starts and earned $1.28 million. “These races are very important to me, and this horse’s mom was one of my favorite horses and (Loua Dipa) is one of my favorite horses, so it really means a lot,” Burke said. Loua Dipa, a Dan Patch Award divisional champion as a 2-year-old, had throat surgery following a seventh-place finish against male rivals in the Delvin Miller Adios on July 25 at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. She returned to action on Sept. 6, finishing third in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final for 3-year-old filly pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia. She got back to her winning ways in the 56th edition of the Jugette. “For her to come back from the surgery barely two months ago and be back in the winner’s circle at a Grade 1 event, we’re very happy,” Burke said. “It wasn’t all easy (this year). She came back and I could hear her making a little noise, but she was still winning. Finally, we realized it was going the wrong way, and we were going to have to do something different, so we had surgery on her. I still say she’s the best filly I’ve ever trained, and that says a lot. I think that before the end of the year she’ll prove it.” In the Jugette final, Wrenn put Loua Dipa in front and controlled the tempo with fractions of :27, :55.3 and 1:24.3. “I was more confident the second heat than the first heat,” Wrenn said. “She raced great. She’s a tremendous filly and I’m just really proud of her. She raced awesome.” The final played out in similar manner to the first heat, when Wrenn took the lead with Loua Dipa approaching the :27.3 opening quarter and then kept Darlin’s Angel locked in the pocket while fending off a late outside rally from I’m A Lou Lou. “I had her shut down there on the last turn, trying to save her for the second heat, and to try to keep (Darlin’s Angel) pinned in there because she’s a nice filly,” Wrenn said about Loua Dipa’s diminishing advantage in the first heat. “It’s Delaware, no passing lane, so I was trying to use when I got to the front to my advantage. She was good.” Last year, Wrenn won the Little Brown Jug with Burke-trained Louprint . “It’s been awesome,” Wrenn said about his Delaware victories. “These are a couple of moments that I’ll never forget. My family is here with me and I’m just so happy for the Burke Brigade, and for the opportunity to drive these nice horses. It always feels good to get the job done.” Burke has swept the Jugette and Little Brown Jug in the same year twice previously, including last year with Louprint and filly Rodeo Drive Deo. He will send out four horses in Thursday’s (Sept. 24) $650,000 Grade 1 Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fair: Al Papi, Frantic Hanover, Melillo and Watch Em Win.  Loua Dipa wins first Jugette heat Loua Dipa and Wrenn moved to the lead approaching the :27.3 opening quarter and remained in front from there to win the $25,000 first heat of the Jugette. I’m A Lou Lou finished a fast-closing second after a three-wide move from midpack on the last turn while Darlin’s Angel, who took the early lead from post 1, finished third. The remaining order of finish, which set the post positions for the $240,000 Jugette final later today, was Sandyboots Yankee, Perfect Thought, Vanna By The River, Ideal Beauty Queen, and Kilauea Hanover. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to move or not, but I thought it was the move to make at the time,” Wrenn said. “It turned out to be the right move.” Loua Dipa, over a track labeled good, set fractions of :55.4 to the half and 1:25 to three-quarters en route to her fifth win in nine starts this season. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite, the daughter of Sweet Lou -Looksgoodinaromper paid $3.60 to win. “I was happy with her,” Wrenn said. “Now we have post 1 and have some options to work with. One more time.”

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania featured four $16,000 events for 2-year-olds as its Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 18) features. While these horses are coming along a little late to race in Pocono’s $1.4 million Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championships for freshmen on Sept. 7, they have shown the potential to climb quite high in their development, and the best state-sired performers may just be able to earn spots in the 2027 sophomore Sire Stakes finales. On the pacing side, the “ladies” outperformed the “gentlemen,” as the Perfect Sting -Philly Hanover filly Philly’s Sting reduced her mark to 1:53.3 for driver Ridge Warren, trainer Juan Cano and Hot Lead Farm. Philly’s Sting took charge of the racetrack in the vicinity of the quarter, yielded to favored Ana Carolina to sit the golden two-hole trip, and then rallied up the inside to defeat the chalk by three-quarters of a length. Warren also had the seat behind the pacing male winner, the Papi Rob Hanover -Barefoot’npregnant gelding Barefoot Papi, who drew in from the also-eligible list then proceeded to break his maiden at 12-1 with a 1:54.1 success for trainer Richard Dunn, also co-owner with MBC Stables LLC. The winning tactics in this race proved to be the same as in the filly race: Barefoot Papi sat in the two-hole behind favored The Tile Guy then produced an individual last quarter of :27.2 to finish a half length ahead of the crowd’s choice. The favorite not only held the lead from beginning to end in the trot for males; the International Moni -CR Calendar Girl gelding Ceasarmoni Hanover extended his margin to 5 lengths going under the wire in 1:57, which reduced his mark. Brad Chisholm drove the Aaron Lambert trainee for owner Vince Ferriero Jr. Chisholm also was in the sulky behind the freshman filly trot winner Seven Seagrams, who lowered her record over three seconds in a 1:58.4 mile, which saw the first four finishers separated by a neck at the finish. The Six Pack -Seven Eleven filly is trained by Rob Harmon for Go For Glory Stable LLC and Matthew Lamont. Ridge Warren led the driving colonies with three wins; joining Brad Chisholm with two were meet leader Tyler Buter, as well as James Kennedy, Anthony Napolitano and Jim Pantaleano. Fourteen different trainers harnessed a winner on Tuesday. The big $2.3 million Sun Stakes Saturday card will proudly be presented by Pocono this coming Saturday (Aug. 22), with a special post time of 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s action, bringing together many of North America’s top 3-year-olds and free-for-allers on both gaits, could go a long way in at least setting up “bragging rights” at this stage of the season. 

East Rutherford, NJ — Brandon Blvd and Darlin’s Angel were convincing winners in a pair of Tompkins-Geers events on Saturday night (Aug. 1) at the Meadowlands. The $54,150 Tompkins-Geers for pacing glamour boys presented another sterling mile by Brandon Blvd, the Meadowlands Pace winner and top sophomore star pacing colt of 2026 who stopped the clock to win in 1:47.3. Driven again by Dexter Dunn, Brandon Blvd sat fourth off the gate as Frantic Hanover pursued the top followed by Sea Bistro Hanover and Ubrute, with the latter rushing forward to take command in a fiery :25.4 first quarter. Ubrute muscled up the backstretch while Brandon Blvd left the pylons to test them all while the half clocked in at :54.1. Ubrute continued with a confident lead, but Brandon Blvd inched nearer under minimal effort as Dunn floated the Andrew Harris-trained millionaire through three-quarters in 1:21.3 to prove his superiority with a sprint to the finish under a hand drive for a 1-1/2-length win. Sea Bistro Hanover got up for second over a late-charging Frantic Hanover as those two passed a tired Ubrute in the final surge to the wire. “I think his consistency is his most impressive thing,” Harris said after the race. “He just goes out there and shows up every week; it’s hard to find one like that. I’m just truly blessed to have one like that. We gave him a little bit of extra time [off the Meadowlands Pace] and used this as a prep race for next week, but I was super thrilled with how he came out of the [Pace].” Harris hopes to have the colt ready for next week’s Cane Pace. “With all the talent in that field, it is great for racing,” he concluded. Punisher 11 Stable owns Brandon Blvd, a son of Downbytheseaside out of the American Ideal dam Alexis Faith. He paid $2.40 to win while pumping his earnings to $1,097,802 after his 12th win in 17 starts over two seasons of racing. In the $52,500 dash for sophomore pacing fillies, 1-5 favorite Darlin’s Angel led every step for a lifetime-best 1:49.2 win. Driver Lauren Tritton steered the daughter of Captaintreacherous -Darlin’s Delight past Car Keys to lead through a :26.2 first quarter and controlled the pace to a :56 half as the field stayed in line to the final turn. Car Keys drafted behind Darlin’s Angel while the others straggled in the ensuing sprint to three-quarters in 1:23.4. Darlin’s Angel soared with no threats to the finish as Tritton pulled off to win by 2 lengths over Car Keys with Sunny Station following in third and Fabulous Hanover taking fourth. “She’s a nice filly,” Tritton said after the race. “She always gives 100%, and Juan [Cano]’s done a great job with her. Obviously she got a nice sectional there today, but she was just toying with them today. She actually took off again after the wire, so I was really happy with her today.” Darlin’s Angel, trained by Juan Cano, collected her fourth win from six starts win this season and her eighth from 13 starts in her career. She increased her lifetime bankroll to $192,440 for owner-breeder Hot Lead Farms and paid $2.60 to win. 

Two-year-old pacing colts and geldings made their first stakes appearances Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, contesting three $30,000 divisions of their Pennsylvania All-Stars event. Hungry Marco, a Stay Hungry-Always Giggling colt and thus a three-quarter brother to the multiple stakes winner Gigglingonthebeach, came from Philly to the mountain oval with three successful trips behind the starting gate, a winning qualifier on either side of an overnight triumph, and added a stakes victory to his burgeoning resume in 1:54, the fastest All-Star division. Hungry Marco was sent to the lead by driver Ridge Warren, set moderate fractions of 28 3/5, 58 1/5 and 1:27, then hustled home in 27 seconds to finish out the quickest win in his young career, a half-length ahead of closer Celtic Wine to his right, with pocket-sitter Loud Luxury just another neck behind to his left. Jamie Sullivan conditions the talented colt for the triumvirate of David Hamm, Glenn Phillips, and Frank Chick. The Sweet Lou-Captiva Island colt Gobstopper became the only successful stakes-winning favorite on Monday when he defeated Hard Four in 1:54 1/5 for his first winning mile. Gobstopper tailed Hard Four, who came uncovered after early splits of 28 3/5 and 58 2/5 before getting a short lead by the 1:26 4/5 three quarters; the winner then paced his individual last quarter in 27 1/5 to catch the game Hard Four by a head. Anthony Napolitano was in the sulky for trainer Michael Deters and owner Rick Berks.  Dapper Station, a double qualifier winner before a good second in his betting bow, made the lead before the 28 3/5 quarter in his section, then pushed favored Midwind Buxton before yielding for the two-hole during middle fractions of 58 1/5 and 1:27 1/5. Dapper Station vacated the golden chair and put in his own last split of 27 1/5 to complete a 1:54 3/5 mile (the track was still rated "good" before being rerated to "fast" for the other All-Stars cuts) - a neck to the good of the chalk while rewriting his own lifetime-best. The Captain Crunch-Dandy's Sweetness gelding was driven by Tyler Buter for trainer Hunter Oakes and the ownership of H O Racing Inc., Louis Peachey, and Tribbett Racing. The overnight feature was a $20,000 fast-class trot, taken by Celebrity Bambino in 1:52 2/5 (fast track), his second straight triumph after some behavioral troubles. Here, Celebrity Bambino made two moves, then withstood late-flyer Super Duper Cooper by a half-length for the familiar pairing of driver Tyler Buter and trainer Ron Burke, both leading their standings at this meet, and the ownership of Burke Racing Stable LLC., J&T Silva Stables LLC., Knox Services Inc., and Phil Collura. An intriguing and popular exhibition race was arranged by trainer Brandy Wine and driver Braxten Boyd, who are expecting a child – a "match race" between "Momma's Boy" and "Daddy's Girl," outfitted in blue and pink respectively, with the winner announcing to the world whether the baby was to be a boy or a girl! "Momma's Boy" hit the wire first, with many members of the happy families, friends and members of the Pocono community joining the expectant parents in the winner's circle after the novel event. Tyler Buter brought home five winners on the card to further extend his driving lead, with George Napolitano Jr. winning four times (#8 in the all-time sulky standings, George is now three victories shy of the 13,000 milestone) and Ridge Warren reporting home first three times (not counting his "success" behind "Momma's Boy"). Enrico Robinson had the only training double, both driven by "George Nap." The 1 p.m. (EDT) card on Tuesday at Pocono brings an end to this racing week. --press release (PHHA/Pocono)--

Wilkes-Barre, PA – Darlin’s Angel won her division of the Pennsylvania All-Stars event on Monday (May 11) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.  The third All-Stars section was the fastest of the three at 1:51, as the Captaintreacherous filly Darlin’s Angel continued a good All-Stars form run for her sire, who got three credits in Saturday’s action for the equivalent division of males. Darlin’s Angel, undefeated in three starts this campaign, was quarter-mover #2 by the :27.3 opening pole, cut middle fractions of :56.2 and 1:24.2, then blitzed home in :26.3 to win by 2½ lengths over Tall Dark Tequila for driver Lauren Tritton, trainer Juan Cano, and Hot Lead Farm. The Pennsylvania All-Stars series next pops up at Pocono a week from Monday (May 18), with Hambletonian hopefuls trying to build a solid case for going onto the Grand Circuit in the All-Stars three-year-old male trot.

Sire Stakes winner, Darlin's Angel (Captaintreacherous-Darlin’s Delight) was also a second choice, who took command in 27 3/5, then yielded for the garden seat behind favored Topville Lucky during middle splits of 57 and 1:24 4/5 as the PA-sired season opened at Harrah's Philadelphia on Friday afternoon. The chalk had little lick in the home straight, and Darlin's Angel was able to come up the inside for driver Lauren Tritton and defeat uncovered Bettor Be A Star by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:53; last year's $135.60 PaSS Championship winner Say Goodnight was third. Juan Cano conditions the winner of six-of-nine lifetime for Hot Lead Farm.

Saturday night at the Meadowlands, Darlin's Angel (Captaintreacherous-Darlin's Delight) won the $30,000 3-year-old fillies division of the New Jersey Home Grown in 1:54, $5 as the 3-2 second choice. Congratulations to all the connections of Darlin's Angel.

Super Chapter and Conversano went home victorious from the Matrons for 3-year-old trotters on Thursday night at Bally's Dover. In the $163,050 event for colts and geldings, Super Chapter (Dexter Dunn) sat in the pocket behind Go Dog Go (Todd McCarthy) to the 27 second quarter and 56 1/5 half, then pulled the trigger two-wide on the way to the 1:24 1/5 three-quarters. Super Chapter went around Go Dog Go with little dispute after being fed the clear air and then drew off to win by six lengths in 1:51 2/5. Breeders Crown champion Meshuggah (Scott Zeron) was second to give trainer Marcus Melander the exacta, and Cheers Hanover (Tim Tetrick) was up for third. Go Dog Go tired to fourth and Durante Hanover (David Miller) got fifth. "He gets around the turns so good, he doesn't lose any speed really if it's in the straight or in the turns," said Dunn. "Once I moved him down the backside, he really exploded off the helmet and put them away pretty quickly." Melander trains Super Chapter, a Chapter Seven colt, for co-owner/breeder Hanover Shoe Farms and co-owners Jeff Snyder and Art Pronti. He has a summary of 14-6-2 from 25 outings, has put away $1,754,355 and paid $3.00 to win as the 1-2 favorite. "He's been great from Day One this year. He's as sharp as he was the first start this year as he is now," stated Melander. "He had a little dip there the week before the Kentucky Futurity. He lost that race and he wasn't himself, but other than that he's showed up every week and he's a fantastic horse. "This is it for this year. Now in a couple weeks he will probably test breeding a little bit, and then we will see what happens after that." Jason Bartlett picked up the catch-drive on Hambletonian Oaks champion Conversano in the $132,350 filly flight and won with the Juan Cano trainee in 1:52 4/5. R Dutchess (Tetrick) worked her way past R Lady W (McCarthy) for the lead nearing the 27 second quarter-mile marker and kept it to the half in 55 4/5. Meanwhile, Conversano watched all that from third before being sent first-up on the way to the 1:23 1/5 three-quarters. Conversano forged her way around R Dutchess on the final bend and trotted on to a 2 3/4 length victory while R Dutchess held off My Debt Collecter (Tyler Buter) for second. Martz Seven (Tony Morgan) and Monalishi (Yannick Gingras) rounded out of the top five. "About after the fifth race," Bartlett said when asked when he knew he was going to drive Conversano. "It was pretty late, but I knew a little bit of her watching her all year race and obviously win the Hambletonian Oaks and everything. I always kind of like to do a little homework. I said to Juan 'it's a little late here, so you've got to tell me all about her.' He filled me in, and she raced really well considering coming off the qualifier. "In the first turn I didn't realize (R Lady W) was going to get out of there so well. I knew my horse was really quick out of the gate, and I was hoping to follow (R Dutchess), but then things changed in the first turn. I had to pull, and Juan said that when you come with her, come quick because she's really, really quick. He wasn't wrong. I got beside (R Dutchess), got to clear him going into the last turn and hoped to God from there that she could get home from there because she's not real tight coming off the qualifier. She's a really nice horse."  By Muscle Hill, Conversano was bred by Joseph Parisi and is owned by Hot Lead Farm. She has ten wins, three seconds and a third from 21 appearances, has pocketed $617,561 and returned $7.80 to win.