Driver George Napolitano Jr. won five races on Friday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, including four in a row late in the card, as he approaches his fifth straight dash title at the riverside oval and seventh overall sulky win crown in the track’s 13-year history. The quintet gives Napolitano an unbridgeable 269-250 advantage over Tim Tetrick going into the season’s final card on Sunday.
There were three $16,000 feature events on Friday in Philly, with the only one on the pace taken by Bettors Delight sophomore filly Delightful Feather in 1:54.4, completing an engine venture with a :28.1 last quarter for driver Andrew McCarthy while keeping Fine Art safe by a length. The victory was one of three on the afternoon for the brother team of trainer Tom and owner John Cancelliere, and it was the fourth for Delightful Feather in her last five starts.
Also raising his recent record to 4-for-5 was the Swan For All sophomore gelding Swansea, who came up the inside from third-in to take a new mark of 1:55, a half-length ahead of Pandoras Box, in the first trotting feature. Tony Morgan was in the sulky for trainer Scott Di Domenico and the ownership of Dana Parham and Triple D Stables Inc.
The star of the day, though, shone in the second trotting contest, as the Mr Cantab three-year-old gelding River Otter was sent to the front by Dexter Dunn at the quarter and improved his position from there, drawing well clear of his field in a startling 1:53.2, lowering his mark over three seconds for owner Yinson Quezada. It was the winner’s second start for trainer Anette Lorentzon, who also had three victorious charges on the day, since coming to town from Hoosier Park.
The final card of the 2018 season at Harrah’s Philadelphia will be held on Sunday, with first post set for 2:05 p.m.
(PHHA / Harrah's Philadelphia)