Hawthorne Racecourse (12/31/10)
Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700
Closing day at Hawthorne
After a great meet in relation to the weather this fall, Mother Nature decided to give us one final reminder that she is in charge yesterday. Maintaining a track during winter weather is tough enough, but our crew has done a great job and put many hours of work in. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do yesterday when the temperatures warmed to nearly 45 degrees and the track thawed out very quickly. After walking the track myself and speaking with the riders, we determined together that it was in the best interest of the riders and the horses to cancel yesterday as there was not much of a base for the horses to grab onto and safety was a concern.
Our track crew continued to work through the day and the evening to float as much water as possible out of the track and the surface has thawed completely. What that means is we have a base now for the horses to grab onto today while the top of the track is sloppy. I expect the 11-race card to run without issue today.
On our final day, we honor our leaders for jockey, owner and trainer. The race for leading jock was wrapped up by Tim Thornton as he has won his fourth riding title on his career. The nation’s leading owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds, was also Hawthorne’s leading owner for the fall. The race for leading trainer will go right down to the wire though as Joel Berndt and Jamie Ness are tied atop the standings. Ness has three entered today while Berndt has a seven. We may not know for sure until Joel’s final runner of the day goes in the 10th.
Our final online chat of the fall meet will take place as well as Joe Kristufek and myself will be on www.horseplayernow.com to cover the 11-race card. The chat opens at 1:15 and will run throughout the day.
Following today’s live card, we will be open daily for simulcasting before the return of our spring meet on Friday, February 11. I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year and good luck with today’s races.
Changes
Main Track – Sloppy
Race 1
#3 – jockey – J. Lantz
Scratch #4 – Atom Splitter
Race 2
#4 – jockey – D. Sanchez
Race 3
Scratch #1 – Toquinho
#3 – jockey – F. Giles
Scratch #4 – Zimany
Race 4
#3 – jockey – TBA
Race 5
#2 – jockey – T. Thornton
Scratch #3 – Ice Rocket
Race 6
Scratch #6 – Kitty Covenant
Scratch #14 – Senator Lauzen
Race 7
#2 – jockey – Joel Campbell
Scratch #4 – Hawk’s Girl
Race 8
Scratch #3 – Trust Nobody
#4 – jockey – T. Molina
Scratch #13 – Cause Cause Cause
Race 9
Scratch #2 – Kissit
Scratch #9 – Pyote
Scratch #10 – Need More Luck
Scratch #14 – Sagedust
Race 10
#1 – jockey – F. Giles
Scratch #2 – House of Usher
Scratch #14 – Phil N Marty
Race 11
#1a – jockey – B. Meier
Scratch #2 – Sheila’s Song
Scratch #5 – Veiled Frost
