by Tom Kelley, publicity director, Maywood Park

Melrose Park, IL — Maywood Park will play host to its biggest night of the year on Friday, Nov. 20, as some of North America’s top horses and drivers visit the half-mile oval for a quartet of stakes events headlined by the $225,000 Windy City Pace for 3-year-old colts.

Among those going postward in Maywood’s signature event, which has been carded as the seventh race on the 14-race program, is Breeders Crown champion If I Can Dream who was a $30,000 supplement to the race. The winner of more than $1.6 million this year is well versed on a half-mile oval with victories in a heat of the Little Brown Jug, the Messenger Stake, the Cane Pace and the Confederation Cup this season. The sport’s leading money winning driver, Tim Tetrick, will be in to handle the driving duties for trainer Tracy Brainard.

He’ll be opposed by such standouts as Annieswesterncard, who boasts over $416,000 in earnings this season; Sheer Desire, a winner of almost $305,000 this year; and What It Means, this year’s Maywood Pace winner.

Team Brainard has a pair of tremendous sophomore pacing fillies in the $100,000 Cinderella Stake in Yellow Diamond and Shacked Up. Yellow Diamond is fresh off a convincing wire-to-wire romp in the $185,000 American-National Stake at Balmoral last Saturday night. That victory was the 13th in 21 starts this season for the Breeders Crown champion who boasts more than $1.2 million in earnings in this her first year of racing. Shacked Up also comes to town after an impressive win last Saturday as she captured the $285,000 Ontario Sire Stakes Super Final at Woodbine in 1:51.3. An eight-time winner this season, Shacked Up has earned almost $785,000 for the Bulletproof Enterprises.

The $130,000 Abe Lincoln Stake for 2-year-old pacing colts is headed up by OK Commander who comes into this race off a sharp front stepping score in the $180,000 American-National at Balmoral last Saturday night.

Also on tap on the big Friday card is the $90,000 Galt Stake for 3-year-old trotting colts. In this event the Illinois bred sensation Southern Rocketop, a winner of more than $585,000 in his career, will take on the likes of Photoforwin, who boasts $234,491 in earnings this season and Winning Mister, who was the runner-up in this year’s Old Oaken Bucket Stake.

The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a Windy City Pace t-shirt and there will be “mystery” prizes given away after each race. There will also be a special Windy City Pace Surf & Turf Buffet in the dining room for just $19.95 as well as Corona beer specials all night long.

All the action gets underway at 7:20 p.m. (CST).