The draw is complete for the first racing card of 2025 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, which will take place on Friday with a special evening post time of 6:30 p.m.
The feature is the $13,500 twelfth race trot. Furst Igor S, from the barn of hot trainer Per Engblom, has recently won at this “nw 5 races” level at Yonkers, but he also has been having recent problems with holding stride. Three of his opponents show wins in the adjacent “nw 4 races” class at Pocono among their lines. The fast-class trotting feature, racing for $11,000 and slotted as race eight, 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 seems likely to be at Yonkers on opening night, but 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 2005 meet at Pocono already, is expected to be on hand.
After opening night, Harrah’s Philly will go with a schedule through June of Thursday and Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40, 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.
Another set of qualifiers was held at Philly on a chilly Tuesday morning. The Muscle Hill sophomore trotting gelding My Degenerate crossed the wire in 1:54 last week but made a break in the race; he was then put right back in on Tuesday and stayed errorless in 1:54 2/5. He was one of three winners for trainer Julie Miller and driver-husband Andy Miller.
The 1-2 finishers in last season’s Stallion Series Championship for freshman pacing colts, held at Philly, won separate qualifiers for father-son connections: victorious Bettor’s Wish colt Twisted Destiny, who won Tuesday in 1:55 1/5 for trainer-father Chris and son-driver Patrick Ryder, and second-place I’m The One, victorious here in 1:57 for trainer/father Brett Pelling and driver-son Jack Pelling.
-edited release (PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia)