Hawthorne Racecourse (3/16/12)
Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700
Fan Friendly Friday, March Madness at Hawthorne
What great weather! It was so nice that I got to walk the turf course on Thursday with plans of when we will kick off racing on the grass. If you remember, last year we had the wettest April in the past 50 years and ran a grand total of zero turf races in the spring as we were rained off every day. This year, we are hopeful that the weather will be better as we have set April 4 as the first day we would like to conduct turf racing. It would be great to see a pair of stakes races along with a turf race on Illinois Derby Day on April 7.
Today we have our Fan Friendly Friday specials as we are offering $2 specials on admission and program along with food and drink specials. Tomorrow, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we will be giving away pilsner mugs to the first 500 fans with paid admission as we will be offering beer specials throughout the weekend. For those who are looking to dine at Hawthorne on Saturday, our Gold Cup Room will be filled with an event but we are opening our Turf Club for patrons as we will offer a special buffet with a great view of the track. With the beautiful weather expected, fans will have access to our outdoor boxes to watch all of the racing action.
The Wednesday card saw a pair of riders post riding doubles as veterans Julio Felix and Harry Vega both guided home a pair of winners. While both riders still have many years ahead of them, these two show the depth of our jockey colony after often times Felix and Vega have been overlooked at the windows yet they have combined for 6,441 winners on their careers.
In honor of March Madness, we are having some friendly fun on Facebook as you can access our horse racing March Madness contest through the Hawthorne fan page. Visit the page and give your input on the greatest horses of all time!
On this gorgeous Friday, we have only one early scratch, which is a part of an entry. Also, jockey Inez Karlsson is off her mounts as she battles the flu. She hopes for a return Saturday but wants to have her strength to ride.
Today’s Early Changes
Main Track – Fast
Race 2
Scratch #1 – Devil’s Hole
