WILKES-BARRE PA – It may be hard to believe, but Pocono Downs in Mohegan Pennsylvania is already gearing up for its 61st year of showcasing harness racing in northeastern Pennsylvania.
The first betting card for the 2026 season is set for Saturday, February 14. Pocono will race a basic schedule of Saturday, Monday and Tuesday through the final day of November 21; Starting May 31, nine cards will appear on consecutive Sundays, with the first post on Sunday at 5 p.m.
But before bettors invest their betting dollars, it’s a tradition to hold some qualifying races, usually for horses that have been laid off for a long time or are having trouble keeping their stride. Therefore, the “start of racing” is only a month away as there will be qualifying races on both Monday February 9 and Tuesday February 10 to ensure there are enough fit racehorses ready to start the season. The draw for the first qualifying tournaments will take place on Friday, February 6 (boxes close at 11 a.m.).
The first series of feature races will be part of the popular Game Of Claims Series, with horses receiving a base tag of $25,000 for the action on opening day and the following two Saturdays as they attempt to earn a spot in their $35,000 Championship on Saturday, March 7. This year the various Game Of Claims Series will be spread across the racing year on the mountain oval, and claims will be excluded from the Game Of Claims Championship races.
The signature card of the Pocono racing season is the $2.3 million Sun Stakes Saturday, held at the traditional venue this year taking place on Saturday, August 22, with a special post time of 2:30 p.m. Stars like Frantic Hanover (whose $288,564 earned in last year’s PA Sire Stakes was the Sires’ best-ever season), national champion Loua Dipa and Ginger Tree Lex will test the best from the rest of North America in four races for the top three-year-olds.
The Bobby Weiss Series, named after Pocono’s legendary retired trackman, often serves as a springboard for early-season development of three-year-olds and will be on display throughout the month of April. The rising sophomores will have approximately $1 million on the line as they establish their credentials.
The Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Pennsylvania Stallion Series each have a day for the best of the Keystone-sired two- and three-year-old classes, as do the Pennsylvania All-Stars series (all starting in mid-May) and the John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes (held in early fall). This year, Pocono will host the Sire Stakes Championship and consolation events for two-year-olds on Monday, September 7, with $1.4 million contested among the top babies.
Tyler Buter led the driver colony in wins in 2025 for his first Pocono sulky crown, and he should feature prominently, as do the Napolitano brothers, George Jr. (the winningest driver in the circuit’s history) and Anthony, who finished 2-3 behind Buter last year. Ron Burke, recently named Trainer of the Year for 2025, will attempt to capture his fifth Pocono conditioning title in the last six years.
More details will be announced as the start of the season gets closer. The Pocono website is https://moheganpa.com.
From the PHHA/Pocono Downs
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