Springfield, IL — Fox Valley Hadley made a four-wide move at the top of the stretch Sunday afternoon (May 29) and rolled to victory at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, taking a division of the Spring Preview 3-year-old filly pace in an event-record 1:56.3 in her career debut.

Owned and bred by Fox Valley Standardbreds (Dr. Kenneth and Patricia Walker), Fox Valley Hadley is from the penultimate crop by leading Illinois sire Sportsmaster, who died at the age of 30 in October 2019. Trained by Nick Prather and driven by Cordarius Stewart, the filly was making her first career purse start after three appearances in qualifying races.

Also on Sunday, Lous Xanadu tied the Spring Preview record for 3-year-old trotting fillies with a victory in 1:58.3 for owner-breeder Flacco Family Farms LLC (Dr. Richard and Arlene Flacco). Casey Leonard drove the daughter of Lou’s Legacy, who is trained by Steve Searle.

Leonard tied his own Spring Preview record by finishing the day with seven winning drives, while Searle trained a record six winners on the card. Flacco Family Farms led all owners and breeders with six wins in each category.