by Dan Poprawski for Hawthorne Race Course

It’s opening night at Hawthorne! For the next 55 nights, Chicago harness fans will be treated to exciting one-mile track racing action just a few miles from beautiful downtown Chicago. Beginning this evening, and continuing through September 7th, the Stickney plant will showcase some of the finest Standardbred action ever witnessed in the state of Illinois.

The Illinois Racing Board last fall awarded Suburban Downs these 2004 harness dates based on the fact that Hawthorne consistently produces the largest on-track live handle numbers of any track in Illinois. In addition, unlike Maywood and Balmoral, Hawthorne does not take the 1% surcharge on winning wagers on-track, thus allowing more money to be returned to our loyal fans on winning wagers.

The biggest change in the 2004 schedule over the 2003 dates is the time of the year the dates will be run. Last year Suburban Down’s 49 evening dates concluded on June 30th. This year, however, Hawthorne was awarded the prime summer dates as the Racing Board attempts to rekindle those former glory days of in-town racing from days past at Sportsman’s Park, while building on Hawthorne’s great momentum.

Hawthorne’s exhilarating stakes schedule gets quickly underway this Saturday as $25,000 eliminations for the Erwin F. Dygert Memorial FFA Trot are the headliners leading to the $100,000 est. Dygert Final on Saturday, July 24th. Several of the nation’s best freefor-all pacers will make Hawthorne their home starting Saturday, August 28th as eliminations are held for the $100,000 est. Robert F. Carey FFA Pace on Saturday, September 4th.

The richest race of the 2004 Chicago harness season will go postward on Saturday, August 28th in the $350,000 est. Yonkers Open Trot for 3 year olds. Elims for the Yonkers, which is being conducted at Hawthorne due to the renovation of Yonkers Raceway, will be raced on Saturday, August 21st, with those elims going for $100,000 est. The sister event of the Yonkers Trot, the Hudson Trot for 3 year old trotting fillies will also be co-featured on August 28th, with that race going for an estimated $100,000.

Of course, Illinois Bred pacers and trotters will take the center stage several times during the Hawthorne meet as eight separate stake series will be conducted during the meet. Two year old trotting colts and fillies will kick off the rich ICF stakes on Wednesday, July 21st with the first legs of the Star Slinger for 2 year old fillies and the Plesac for 2 year old colts and gelding. Leg two will be contested the following Wednesday, July 28th. Both legs of the Star Slinger and the Plesac will go for $10,000 each, with the rich finals scheduled for Friday, August 6th.

Two year old pacing fillies will flash their stuff in the Shell Belle series scheduled for $10,000 legs on Thursday, July 22nd and 29th with the final on Saturday, August 7th. The freshman boys will be featured in $10,000 legs of the Fox Valley Dynamic on Friday, July 23rd and Friday, July 30th, with an estimated $47,000 final on Friday, August 6th.

Three year old ICF trotters will be featured in the Fox Valley Evita series for the girls with legs on Tuesday, July 20th and 27th and a final on Friday, August 6th. The Gumcorner Lad series will highlight the sophomore class of boys with $10,000 legs on Tuesday, July 20th and 27th and a final on Tuesday, August 3rd.

The glamour division of 3 year old ICF pacers will take center stage on Friday, July 23rd and 30th with $10,000 legs for fillies in the Determination Plus series, while the colts will slug it out in $10,000 legs of the Master Shawn on Saturday, July 24th and July 31st. Both lucrative finals will showcase the Saturday, August 7th race card.

All in all it should be a very exciting summer at Hawthorne.