Call Me Richard pressed forward to control the pace over Monday's sloppy racetrack at Pocono, and he opened up a large lead towards the ¾. In the stretch Holy Halibut, second choice to the winning favorite, made up some late ground, but Carlson kept after his charge and crossed the wire with a safe 1¼-length margin at the end of the 1:57.3 mile.
The 42-year-old Carlson was half that age when he won his first race, an FFA pace worth $930, at the Fowlerville MI fair with Calamity Clyde. Eric grabbed industry attention in 2010, when he won 603 races, sixth-highest in North America, while dominating the Detroit circuit. He soon afterwards decided to take his driving skills eastward, with his earnings benefiting from the transplantation: his best money year was 2014, when his horses brought in $5.3 million of his career $27.3 million tally.
PHHA / Pocono