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The Grand Circuit is Happening at Hawthorne

Courtesy of the U.S.T.A

The Grand Circuit will make 22 stops during its 2006 racing season and has added two new members. Hawthorne Racecourse in Stickney, Illinois will offer a stakes filled schedule from June 9-June 17, while Tioga Downs in Nichols, New York will host the two-year-old Tompkins-Geers stakes on July 23 and 24.

There are only minor changes in the schedule from last year to the new campaign. The Breeders Crown dates move from late-August/early-September to late-July (older horses) and from late-November to late-October (two and three-year-old events); Maywood shifts from late-October to mid-November; and Dover, which ran a split schedule in 2005 with their two-year-old races contested in November and their three-year-old races held in December, will have all their Grand Circuit races contested in a two week period from November 12-November 26.

The Grand Circuit has been in existence since 1871, when representatives from three racetracks in different states met to create a racing circuit. The first campaign for the Grand Circuit took place in 1873, when four tracks offered $169,300 in purses. >From those humble beginnings, the Grand Circuit has blossomed into a yearly showcase of the finest two and three-year-old harness horses competing in North America, with purses now totaling many millions of dollars at racetracks and fairs in many areas of the continent.

Date Races at Hawthorne

6-14 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 2yo Colt Open Trot
6-14 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 3yo Filly Open Trot
6-15 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 2yo Filly Open Trot
6-15 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 3yo Colt Open Trot
6-16 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 2yo Filly Open Pace
6-16 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 3 Yyo Filly Open Pace
6-17 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 2yo Colt Open Pace
6-17 $50,000 World Series - Grand Circuit 3yo Open Pace

The complete 2006 schedule for the Grand Circuit is as follows.

TRACK – DATES

Freehold Raceway -- May 7-May 14
Hawthorne Racecourse -- June 9-June 17
Hoosier Park -- June 17-June 24
Meadowlands (Historic Series) -- June 26-July 1
Historic Track (Goshen) -- June 30-July 1
Pocono Downs -- July 8-July 14
Scioto Downs -- July 20-July 22
Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands -- July 22-July 29
Tioga Downs -- July 23-July 24
Meadowlands -- July 26-August 5
Meadows -- August 8-August 12
Illinois State Fair (Springfield) -- August 11-August 17
Indiana Downs -- August 18-August 19
Indiana State Fair (Indianapolis) -- August 19
Illinois State Fair (Du Quoin) -- August 28-September 2
Mohawk -- September 2-September 9
Delaware, Ohio County Fair -- September 17-September 22
The Red Mile -- September 26-October 7
Breeders Crown at Woodbine -- October 20-October 28
Balmoral Park -- November 4-November 11
Maywood Park -- November 10-November 17
Dover Downs -- November 12-November 26

Hawthorne’s spring 2006 Standardbred meet runs May 6 through June 17 with live racing six days per week – Tuesday through Sunday. Post time is 7:20 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Hawthorne’s fall 2006 Thoroughbred meet runs September 15 through December 31 with live racing five days per week: Wednesday through Sunday. Post time is 1:10 p.m.

Hawthorne’s spring 2006 Thoroughbred meet ran February 24 through May 2.

For more information visit www.hawthorneracecourse.com.

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