Hawthorne Racecourse (10/20/10)
Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700
Great weather continues at Hawthorne
Kicking off our third full week of racing as we are hitting stride for the fall meet. We have sunny skies, a fast track and a firm turf. A reminder, we are just over one week away from our Illinois Festival of Racing as the top Illinois breds will be showcased on track for all to see. In addition, we will be having some fund raisers on Saturday, October 30 to benefit our Illinois Thoroughbred Retirement Program as we continue to place retired Illinois horses on good farms as they head into their next phase of life. More details to follow on our fundraisers in the coming days.
Looking at the standings, a strong week last week by Tim Thornton has vaulted him to the top of the rider standings with 14 victories. Jozbin Santana holds onto the second spot with 11 wins while Tanner Riggs and Eddie Perez are tied for third with nine victories apiece. Trainers Joel Berndt and Chris Block are both off to good starts this fall, each with 7 winners while Mike Reavis sits in third with five victories.
Changes
Main Track – Fast
Turf Course – Firm
Race 1
Scratch # 4 – High Heir
Race 3
Scratch #2 – Cat Magic
Race 4
Scratch #8 – Fireman Jerry
Race 5
Scratch #8 – Fast Promises
Race 6
Scratch #10 - Hurta
Race 8
Scratch #1a – Zooming White Star
Featured Race of the Day
Starter allowance runners in the sixth as we have a field of nine to head postward. This is a very competitive bunch of runners but one who already has won over this turf is #1 – Corrupt. Trained by Jamie Ness, Corrupt defeated a solid field of $18,000 claimers in his first start of the meet while on the grass. My concern is that there is not a ton of pace in here, but Corrupt has some versatility and should be able to find good position early.
The Featured Race of the Day will offer fans a chance to win a $5,000 Wager on the Breeders’ Cup Classic through the Breeders’ Cup Super Bet. Simply play our Featured Race each day with your Club Hawthorne Card and you are automatically entered for your chance to win. The last day to qualify is October 30 and we will draw our winner the following day.
