Hinsdale, IL — It’s been a long time coming. After a one-year hiatus, harness racing returns to Hawthorne Racecourse Saturday (Sept. 9), the opening night program of its 2023 Standardbred racing season.

When Arlington Park surprisingly officials pulled the plug on horse racing in 2021 and sold its land to the Chicago Bears, it tossed the Illinois horse racing industry into disarray and made Hawthorne the lone all-weather harness racing facility in the state, causing a major headache to the scheduling of both the thoroughbreds and Standardbred racing.

It’s been a full year since harness racing was conducted on the Stickney, Illinois mile oval. The thoroughbreds have occupied the facility since mid-September of 2022. Fortunately for harness racing fans, that will change Saturday night with the opening card Hawthorne card will see the “big guns” of the ICF program underscore the 13-race card.

Illinois pacing kingpin He’zzz A Wise Sky will be going to the starting gate Saturday for Triple ZZ Stable when Hawth0rne opens its 2023 harness racing meeting. Terry Young Photo.

The seventh race $11,100 Open for pacers lured the former Illinois Horse of the Year He’zzz A Wise Sky (Travis Seekman) to compete against four other very good pacers: Admiral Adam (Ryan Ver Hage), Fox Valley Ozzy (Gary Rath), Fox Valley Gemini (Casey Leonard) and Western Era (Cordarius Stewart).

Hre’zzz A Wise Sky comes inti the fray with a pair of sub 1:50 winning miles in the aged state fair pacing championships at Springfield and Du Quoin.

A victory tonight will boost the homebred six-year-old gelding’s lifetime purse earnings over the $600,000 plateau for his Beecher, Illinois owners Triple ZZZ Stable. The Yankee Skyscraper stud boasts a lifetime record of 74 finishes of third or better in 90 starts, 41 of those wins.

Fox Valley Gemini has been second best to the John Filomeno trained pacer in both State Fair showdowns nevertheless has beaten He’zzz A Wise Sky the last two times they’ve met on Hawthorne’s Night of Champions. A win Saturday would give the pride of the Terry Leonard stable 60 first place finishes in 116 trips to the starting gate.

A race earlier brings together three of last year’s Illinois trotting champions—Talk Abou Valor (Travis Seekman), handicapped with the outside six slot; Annas Lucky Star (Juan Franco) and Lousdobb (Casey Leonard). They’ll be challenged by La Lolita (Matt Avenatti), Reign And Shine (Jamaica Patton) and Swan Of Dreams (Phil Knox),

The two-time defending ICF aged male trotter Talk About Valor breezed to back-to-back Illinois State champions last month for trainer Gerald Hansen and will be a heavy favorite to extend his two-race winning streak for Monee, Illinois owner Shelley Steele.

Annas Lucky Star (post three) also got back on the winning track at the Illinois State Fairs, taking both older aged mare championships for owner and breeder Danny Graham of Salem, Illinois. Nelson Willis has trained the now nine-year-old mare throughout her brilliant career consisting of 60 winner’s circle stops.

Travis Seekman will take over the driving chores tonight with the mare’s regular pilot Kyle Wilfong competing at Hoosier Park.

The Steve Searle trained Lousdobb (post four) was the best in the Illinois bred colt and gelding trot division as both a two and three-year-old. Now four, the Lous Legacy gelding has been consisting of hitting the tote board, second best against Talk About Valor at both Springfield and Du Quoin.

The four-year-old mare La Lolita bested Annas Lucky Star earlier this summer for her Kentucky owner Darek Harmon and her rail position should have the four-year distaffer racing near the front tonight.

Reign And Shine (post two) is putting together a strong campaign Williamsville, Illinois owners Carroll and Diana Hays. The six-year-old homebred mare was a close second to Annas Lucky Star in their State Fair showdowns and has banked over $20,000 in her first 11 season starts.

The best two and three-year-old ICF pacers and trotters are sprinkled through a huge 18-race card on Sunday where the post time has been moved up to 4:30 pm to accommodate the three-dozen state-bred stakes rained out twice at the recently concluded Springfield State Fair.