Hawthorne Race Course

Contact: Mitch Demick (708) 222-4542

Big Money, New Stakes for Hawthorne’s 2008 Harness Meet

Stickney, IL – Hawthorne Race Course begins its 39 evening summer harness meet on Tuesday, June 24, with a stakes schedule locked and loaded with purses in excess of $900,000.

The stakes action begins on Saturday, June 28 with the Chicago and The Lady Chicago, a pair of $60,000 stakes for 3-year-old pacers of both sexes. This stakes duo debuted last year and was won by Johnny Charisma and Cabana Fever, respectively. The latter edged out the talented Sportsfancy, a filly that earned $359,280 in her 2007 campaign.

Two staples of any Hawthorne harness season are back on tap in 2008. The Erwin F. Dygert Memorial open trot and the Robert F. Carey Memorial open pace will once again highlight the Standardbred meet. The Dygert finals are slated for Saturday, July 12 and may be headlined by standout 4-year-old trotter Before He Cheats, already an earner of $463,575. The Carey Memorial final is Saturday, August 2, and among those nominated are Booze Cruzin and My Boy David, two sub-1:50 pacers who regularly knock heads on the Chicago circuit.

On August 2, Hawthorne’s Night of Champions will feature eight $50,000 stakes races for Illinois-bred 2 and 3-year-olds. Two qualifying legs will be conducted in the weeks leading up to the final and will determine the championship entrants.

Racing Secretary Billy Perkins has added a new bullet to the stake’s arsenal by introducing the President’s Series. Perkins recognized a need for the “elder” Illinois-bred pacers and trotters to get in on the stakes action, and will offer $50,000 per event for three races, one for trotters and two for pacers. The President Series will be run on August 6 and 7, the final two days of the meet.

2008 Hawthorne Stakes Schedule

Day & Date Stake Class

Saturday, June 28 $60,000 Chicago 3YO Colt & Gelding Pacers
Saturday, June 28 $60,000 Lady Chicago 3YO Filly Pacers
Tuesday, July 8 $25,000 Just A Con Man Open & Conditioned Trotters
Friday, July 11 $25,000 Cubs Pacing Series Open & Conditioned Male Pacers
Saturday, July 12 $80,000 Dygert Final Aged Trotters
Sunday, July 13 $25,000 Sox Pacing Series Open & Conditioned Female Pacers
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Lil' Bit Tuff 2YO Filly Trotters, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Maxter 2YO Colt & Gelding Trotters, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 She's So Hot 2YO Filly Pacers, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Omaha Survivor 2YO Colt & Gelding Pacers, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Mogo On The Gogo 3YO Filly Trotters, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Thundercrack 3YO Colt & Gelding Trotters, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Sports Fancey 3YO Filly Pacers, ICF
Saturday, Aug. 2 $50,000 Booze Cruizin' 3YO Colt & Gelding Pacers, ICF
Saturday, August 2 $80,000 Robert Carey Final Aged Pacers
Wednesday, Aug. 6 $50,000 President's Series Aged Trotters, ICF
Thursday, Aug. 7 $50,000 President's Series Aged Mare Pacers, ICF
Thursday, Aug. 7 $50,000 President's Series Aged Pacers, ICF

Harness racing returns to Hawthorne Race Course June 24 and continues through August 7. Thoroughbreds return on September 26, and race until the end of the year. The track is open year-round for simulcast wagering, day and night. Hawthorne Race Course is located at 3501 Laramie Avenue, Cicero, IL 60804. Call (708) 780-3700 or visit the Web site at www.hawthorneracecourse.com.