Pocono week in review, June 10-16

After waiting for warmer temperatures for what seemed like the entire harness racing season to date at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the faithful were rewarded with steamy, at times record-setting evenings this past racing week. The standardbreds on display responded with some of the fastest times of the 2017 campaign so far. As a result, there were many candidates for this week's edition of the Weekly Awards. Let's see who made the cut.

PACER OF THE WEEK: TELL US MORE

No claimer has been on a bigger tear than this seven-year-old gelding. After enduring a 2016 season in which he won just two of 31 races, Tell Us More has been awful hard to beat this year. He came into Saturday night's $20,000 claimer with victories in 11 of 15 starts, including his last three. His most recent conquest had come at Pocono on May 27 in a career-best 1:50:3, a win which followed up two straight victories at Harrah's at Philadelphia.

As is often the case, a hot claimer tends to change barns, and that's exactly what happened with Tell Us More. After picking up those three in a row for trainer Matias Ruiz, he was claimed for $20,000 and switched over to new conditioner Richard Banca. On Saturday night, the beat went on and then some for the gelding. As the 3-5 favorite, he took over the lead early and dared everyone to chase.

They might as well have been chasing the wind. Tell Us More poured it on and came home a winner by 5¼ lengths. He also ripped up the mile in 1:49:4, a brand new career-best and one of the rare occasions at Pocono when a claimer goes sub-1:50. His name suggests someone who's a bit of a blabbermouth, but Tell Us More has done far more showing than telling this year at the track.

Other top pacers this week include: Some Playa (Simon Allard, Jennifer Sabot), who moved up in class on Saturday night to pick his second consecutive condition victory; Rockeyed Optimist (Jason Bartlett, Steve Elliott), who followed up a win at Harrah's by scorching the Pocono surface to the tune of a 1:49:1 in a condition win on Saturday night, with that winning time standing up as the fastest of the week at the track; and One To Draw To (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who scored his second straight victory over the $25,000 claimers on Saturday night in 1:50:4.

TROTTER OF THE WEEK: LIBERTARIAN

This 5-year-old gelding from the barn of trainer Rich Gillock has been a whirlwind on the Pocono oval in 2016. He arrived in April and quickly ripped off two straight convincing victories against the non-winners of five. He then broke stride in his following race, but Libertarian shook that stumble off the beat the non-winners of seven the next time around. As if to prove that he could do it elsewhere, he then took to The Meadowlands and conquered the one-mile oval with a win in a career-best 1:53:1.

On Sunday night he returned to Pocono to once again take on the rugged non-winners of seven for a purse of $18,000. With Matt Kakaley in the bike, Libertarian left from the #5 post in a field of nine as a 1-2 favorite. He watched early from third as Sidebet Hanover set the early pace. Kakaley set the favorite in motion on the back stretch with a first-over maneuver.

Sidebet Hanover was game enough to park Libertarian around the final turn, not giving up the lead without a fight. But there was no panic in Libertarian, just a steady, effortless advance to the front and the eventual victory by two lengths in 1:54. That's three in a row, five out of six, and eight wins in 13 races overall this season for the gelding. No matter what your political preferences, this Libertarian is earning votes for year-end honors with the way he's going right now.

Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Crazy About Pat (Jim Marohn Jr., Paul Kelley), who moved up in class on Monday night and picked up his second straight condition win, this one in 1:54:3; Buen Camino (Jason Bartlett, Trond Smedshammer), who arrived from Yonkers to capture Sunday night's $25,000 featured condition trot in 1:52, which was a career-best and the fastest trotting time of the meet so far at Pocono; and TSM Photo Bugger (George Napolitano Jr., Karen Fread), who arrived from the Meadows to score a condition victory on Saturday night in 1:52:4, which matched a career-best.

LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: CAROLINKIA

It wasn't the best week for bombers, but this mare driven by Eric Goodell provided nice value by winning a claiming handicap trot on Monday night at 11-1 for a $24 payoff on a $2 win ticket.

DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JASON BARTLETT

Bartlett's four-win evening on Saturday included victories aboard the fastest pacer of the week (Rockeyed Optimist) and the $25,000 featured pace winner (Blood Brother.)

TRAINER OF THE WEEK: JOHN BUTENSCHOEN

Saturday night's Pennsylvania Sire Stakes were good to Butenschoen, as he claimed two of the three divisions held for three-year-old male trotters with Giveitgasandgo and Dover Dan.

That will do it for this week, but we'll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at jbevigia@mohegansunpocono.com.

Jim Beviglia