Harness Players Newsletter Season 2 Vol. 9 presented by Diamond Creek Farm
May 2, 2025
Crazy times for me as I am in Louisville, KY at the center of the racing universe getting ready for the Oaks/Derby double. I thought it a good time to give some love to Diamond Creek Farm as they recorded a Creekside Chat on the Derby you’ll find a link to it here:
Jon Siegel, Adam Bowden, Mike Akers and Shaun Laungani break out some Derby picks on the latest episode. If you go to their YouTube channel you can find monthly episodes about the inner workings of a breeding farm. Check them out!
A few new things this week as Edison Hatter has a preview of Saturday’s Paralympiatravet at Aby for our friends at ATG. Kevin Plowcha also has some Borgata and PASS content. Look for me on socials doing some Derby work and likely having fun.
~Mikee P.
P.S. Going with Sovereignty in the Derby….just love his long stride and affinity for the surface. Who do you like???
Week Preview with Kevin Plowcha
The first major stake race of the 2025 harness racing season is here! (Sorry, Dexter Cup) I'm talking about the $516,000 MGM Borgata Pacing Series final, which is just one week away (May 9) as of writing this. It's been a long series that featured five preliminaries, but don't let the marathon fool you. The racing was fantastic, and the group of older pacers that participated was the deepest I've seen since I started following the series.
These are the eight horses that will be facing off in the first Grade I race in harness racing. No post draw has been announced yet as of writing this. We'll go through them in alphabetical order.
Binge On Yankee
Many weren't sure what to do with this guy after his massive leg one upset at 20-1 from post seven, especially because they were racing in a torrential downpour at that point in the night, but he continued to show that he belonged in the series, even if he may end up as a fringe player in the final. His effort in leg four was huge, and a good draw could see him follow some live ones and hit the ticket.
Chase H Hanover
The break he took during leg three appeared to work its magic, as he came back strong with wins in legs four and five. I still have questions, though. He got a perfect setup in leg four and it took him all of the stretch to get by the aforementioned Binge On Yankee. He wired them in leg five, but they got to the half in :56, and there's no way Mossdale Ben N was fully cranked. I think he needs a little bit more.
Coaches Corner
This horse absolutely loves the Yonkers oval. He's been a staple in the Borgata for years now, and it didn't change in 2025. He competed in all five legs and earned three wins, finishing no worse than second throughout the entire series. He's a major contender, although he'll probably draw in the parking lot given his history of draw luck at Yonkers.
Desperate Man
He is perhaps the most polarizing horse in this final. He came up short as the heavy favorite in each of the first three legs, and it felt right to question his staying power in this series. He finally got the job done in leg four, but needed to prove it wasn't a fluke. A wrapped up 1:51.1 win in leg five after being pressured to the quarter showed that he could be back.
For Once Inmy Life
On the other end, we have For Once InMy Life, who was 3-for-3 heading into leg five, including getting the best of Coaches Corner twice. But... he was offstride going to the gate, ended up breaking again and getting pulled up. We know that he qualified on Wednesday at Pocono, and was a winner in 1:53.0 according to Cory Stratton. This puts a major question mark over the head of a horse that looked like a major win threat.
Huntinthelastdolar
He's given a strong, solid effort every time he steps out on the Yonkers oval. He faced weaker fields in legs two and three, but to his credit he took care of business. I personally think he needs a lot to go his way to get him a win, but if he runs his race again, I can see him getting a piece.
Mossdale Ben N
Here's your final favorite. This New Zealand invader is 7-for-9 since his North America debut on February 17th. He regularly came from the clouds and would turn impossible trips for regular horses into winning trips for him. His two losses might be his most impressive efforts. Kicking :26.4 in leg three to only miss by half a length to Coaches Corner is insane, and even with the excuse of it being a "prep" mile, the back half was paced in :54.4, and he made up ground on Chase H Hanover with Stratton motionless in the final eighth. He's the one to beat.
Verdun
I would say this has been a resurgence for Verdun - Actually, I still will, because he's stringing strong efforts together against the best open pacer company, but I wasn't familiar with just how much he liked this racetrack. This is where he shines, and we've seen it week in and week out. He's surprised me with his versatility in this series, and I think he provides a sneaky upset chance, especially if you think the race falls apart after hot fractions. We've seen it before.
That's your field for the 2025 MGM Borgata Pacing Series final. Also on that card will be the Blue Chip Matchmaker final, and the consolations for both. It's setting up to be a fantastic night of racing at Yonkers on May 9th.
PASS is BACK!
While the Kentucky Derby weekend is officially upon us, it means the calendar has flipped to May, which also means the start of some hard-hitting stakes racing throughout the sport. Some of my favorite racing of the year takes place on Saturday - the PA Sire Stakes. Specifically, the Glamour Boys (3YO Colt & Gelding pacers). This is the division that makes up the NA Cup, the Meadowlands Pace, the Adios, and the Little Brown Jug, so no wonder I'm excited. There are three divisions of the PASS for the aforementioned 3YO C&G pacers (races 8, 9, and 10 on Derby Day), and some heavy hitters are returning.
Obviously, the Burkes are loaded. Railroad Station ships in off a bullet qualifier from The Meadowlands and draws the rail, but David Miller surprisingly opted off. He decided on Prince Hal Hanover, a horse I've always liked since I saw him race at two. Very interested to see how he returns, especially with Miller in the bike.
Race 9 sees the return of Breeders Crown champion Louprint, leaving from post eight, who is one of my favorite horses. It was awesome to see local star Ronnie Wrenn Jr get his first (of hopefully many) Breeders Crown wins. This is a special horse that could be doing some major damage on the Grand Circuit.
Race 10 is likely the weakest of the three divisions, but it features the return of Papi's Rocket, the PASS Champion from last season. He really developed into a nice horse towards the end of last season. As I'll say about him and many others this weekend: I can't wait, but I'm not holding my breath if they aren't 100% off the bench. It's a long season, but it's gotta start somewhere, and it starts this weekend.
Other News & Notes
Miami Valley hosts the Pacey "The Wizard" Mindlin Memorial Invitational this Saturday (May 3). It's a strong Open group of pacers including Little Rocket Man and Bythemissal. Interesting that Clever Cody shows up in that spot.
The Dexter Cup will be the first ever graded harness race. Takter and Burke dominate the entry box in the field of six.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the closing of Cal Expo. If you're reading this on Friday (May 2), it's the final day of harness racing in California. I'll be wagering a couple of bucks tonight to support. It's an unfortunate sight to see another track bite the dust, and I hope the horses and horse people can continue to do what they love elsewhere.
Spot Plays and Multi leg wager ideas presented by Nahupicks.com For the weekend of 5/2-5/3
Harness Players’ Podcast | 4/30/25 | Fraser Downs Closing Day Late Pick 4
Mikee P and Ray Cotolo preview harness racing action with the Fraser Downs Late Pick 4 for closing day of the winter-spring meet Friday (May 2). The two look for good horse racing bets in breaking down this sequence.
Swedish Horse Racing
By: Edison Hatter
The Swedish Major Race season is set to kick off this Saturday, May 3rd with Paralympiatravet at Åby. The big 12-race card will begin at 8:45 am EDT and Paralympiatravet will go as the 11th race at approximately 12:43 pm EDT. My top pick in the big race is #1 BORUPS VICTORY, last year's second place finisher in the Elitloppet Final. #4 SAN MOTEUR always garners attention when he races, but given the recent issues in his seasonal debut a few weeks ago, I'm inclined to look elsewhere to round out the exacta. I'll choose to look the way of last year's Paralympiatravet winner, #2 ÖNAS PRINCE. With his gate speed, ÖNAS PRINCE should be able to secure a forward spot early while BORUPS VICTORY should find a nice spot from the rail draw as well.
After Paralympiatravet, the next major race will be Elitloppet, which is to be held on Sunday, May 25 at Solvalla. I'll be providing on-site coverage for In The Money again this year from Stockholm and the race is shaping up to be a tremendous event once again. Eight of the 16 horses in the field have been invited so far and include the likes of Australia's THE LOCOMOTIVE, Canada's LOGAN PARK, France's GO ON BOY, and Sweden's FRANCESCO ZET. Stay tuned for further updates in the coming weeks!
