Delaware River repeated in the Smarty Jones Classic, putting in the most dominating performance of the day, winning by 8 3/4 lengths. Delaware River actually ran against Smarty Jones in 2003, finishing last as Smarty won the Pennsylvania Futurity. Delaware River has gone on to win $522,382, one win at a time.

Trainer Butch Reid hooked up with the Afleet Alex gang in 2006. The first horse he claimed for them was a 2-year-old filly named Miss Blue Tye Dye. Reid said the slots money in the Pennsylvania-Bred program was the reason they claimed the filly for $25,000.

"We did not expect all this," Reid said after Miss Blue Tye became the only winning favorite on the dirt, going wire-to-wire in the Northern Fling Handicap. Miss Blue Tye has won three consecutive stakes and $330,693 in 22 lifetime starts.

If there were one race that summed up the day and the history, it was the Captain My Captain, the first stakes on the card. After a stretch-long duel, Power by Leigh outlasted Secretintelligence by a head.

Power by Leigh is owned by Castle Rock Farm in Chester County. The horse is bred and owned by Barbara Geraghty. Her brother is Peter Giangiulio, the president of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association.

Power by Leigh is a product of several generations of Castle Rock horses. His sire, Power by Far, was a PhillyPark regular who won 15 of 32 races and $544,335 from 1997-2000. Just like Power by Leigh, Power by Far was ridden by Roberto Alvarado and trained by Armand Correnti.

The people at Castle Rock, like those at so many other Pennsylvania farms, survived the bad times, waiting and hoping for some good times. The slots have provided the cash that has led to some very good times.

"This is what we were hoping for and more than what we were expecting," Giangiulio said.

When it started, "Pennsylvania Day at the Races" was a nice idea without a lot of juice. Now, it is both.

Colonel John by a nose

It looked as if Mambo in Seattle had barely gotten past Colonel John after the two colts dueled for the final 100 yards. In fact, Mambo in Seattle's jockey Robby Albarado raised his whip in triumph at the wire.

The photo was fascinating. Albarado was clearly ahead of Garrett Gomez who rode Colonel John. But it's not about the jockeys. It is about the noses of the horses. And Colonel John's nose was just ahead of Mambo in Seattle's. It was as close as it can get to a dead heat without actually being a dead heat.

Colonel John finally lived up to the promise he had always shown and the late-developing Mambo in Seattle demonstrated that he would be a player in the fall.

In a 3-year-old year dominated by Big Brown, Colonel John made a giant leap in his form by getting a 106 Beyer speed figure, a number that gets him into Big Brown territory. Based in Southern California and already proven on the synthetic tracks there, Colonel John now becomes a serious player for the Oct. 25 Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita. *