Hawthorne Racecourse (4/23/11)
Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700
Fast track for Illinois Champions Day
What a great day for Illinois Champions Day! While Mother Nature has been beating us up most of this meet, the sun is shining upon us for the 10-race card today. While the races are off the turf, the main track is fast and we have no scratches from any of the Champions Day Stakes.
The track favored the inside at the start of the Friday card, but as the day progressed, the track evened out. There was no bias front-end or back and I don’t expect a bias today either. These are some great stakes races and I am happy to see some horse the hard knockers such as Catalina Way, Distorted Groom and Denham take their shot at the big bucks. All three are more than capable of winning their respective races.
The three-year-old races are both very good and the Pretty Jenny may be the best race on the card. The good thing about each race is seeing the talent that is out there for younger horses in Illinois. The breeding program is alive and well and hopefully will only improve in the years to come.
Once again, we will have an online chat today on HorseplayerNow.com. Joe Kristufek will be covering the races as the chat room will open at 1:15 pm. Joe had a fine day Friday and had excelled on these champs days, expect a plethora of winners.
Changes
Main Track – Fast
OFF Turf
Race 1 – Off Turf – 1 Mile 70 Yards Main Track
Scratch #2 – Bell By The Ridge
Scratch #4 – Approvedbythemint
Scratch #6 – Hype
Race3 – Off Turf – 1 1/16 Miles Main Track
Scratch #1 – Perfect Casting
Scratch #5 – Denhim
Scratch #7 – Tight Grip
Scratch #8 – Summer’s Empire
Hawthorne Race Course is in its 102nd year of racing under Carey family ownership. Hawthorne races Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in April. First post daily is 1:30 pm with Friday’s first post at 2:35 pm. For more information on racing at Hawthorne, visit our website at www.Hawthorneracecourse.com.
