Thoroughbreds ran under lights for the first time at Hawthorne Race Course Oct. 9, an innovative step taken in the Illinois track's 100th year of operation.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Glen Hill Farm's No Inflation, a romping winner last out in the Kent Stakes (gr. IIIT), was installed as the lukewarm 3-1 favorite in the $200,000 Hawthorne Derby (gr. IIIT) Oct. 10.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The Horseplayers Association of North America regularly rates the 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America. Featured exclusively on BloodHorse.com is a countdown of the top 10 tracks. Hawthorne Race Course is #8.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
With forecasters promising strong winds and single-digit windchill temperatures, Turfway Park and Hawthorne Race Course have canceled live racing for Dec. 21.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The Illinois Festival of Racing on Nov. 1 marks the time on the calendar to celebrate the local state-bred equines that populate the majority of Hawthorne's backstretch. And while the progeny of the state's Thoroughbreds won't be confused with those from Kentucky, many have proven successful when raced on the national stage.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Team Valor International's Fairbanks moved into striking position around the far turn, burst to the front in upper stretch, and cruised to the wire a 2 3/4-length winner under Richard Migliore Sept. 27 in the $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup (gr. II) in Illinois.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Golden Velvet turned the tables on rival Tessa Blue, but only after gutting it out in a neck-and-neck battle with that one in the $200,000 Sixty Sails Handicap (gr. III) at Hawthorne Race Course.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Illinois Derby (gr. II) winner Recapturetheglory, a potential contender for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), worked five furlongs at Churchill Downs April 17.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Separate rivalries will continue - this time combined - when a field of eight older fillies and mares goes postward in the $200,000 Sixty Sails Handicap (gr. III) at Hawthorne Race Course April 19.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
TVG has announced an exclusive multi-year agreement that ends an 18-month hiatus of Hawthorne Race Course from the racing network's line-up, and the Illinois track says it is all part of bigger plan to broaden its own plans for a self-run wagering entity.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Handle rose by more than 7% during Hawthorne Park's new January racing schedule, and the Chicago-area racetrack is hoping that the upswing will continue when doors open March 7 for the start of its spring meet.
Friday, February 29, 2008
When you meet Thornton in person, you think he is a very, very nice young man. You wonder how he remained steady and well-mannered even after encountering the racetrack's fast-paced lifestyle. When you hear of his multiple injuries and comebacks, you wonder why he hasn't given up on riding or spiraled into oblivion. Then you speak to his mother, and it all makes perfect sense.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Due to high winds in the Chicago area, Hawthorne Race Course cancelled its Dec. 23 program
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Hawthorne Race Course cancelled the remainder of its Dec. 13 card due to unacceptable track conditions, the racetrack announced following the second race of the day.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
After final approval from the Illinois Racing Board Dec. 13, Hawthorne Race Course announced the 2008 stakes schedule for its spring and fall meets.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Riders Randy Meier and Lyndie Wade were hospitalized with injuries sustained in a two-horse fall during the running of Hawthorne's third race on Nov. 30.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wagering expectations were not met by the majority of horseplayers at Hawthorne Nov.3, as six Illinois-bred stakes races were run and all six favorites disappointed, with longshots ruling the day in the 7th annual Phil Georgeff Festival of Racing.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
On a day when the Illinois Thoroughbred gets some undivided attention, the six $100,000 stakes for horses foaled and/or conceived in the Prairie State will offer a variety of challenges for the average handicapper. Here is a closer look at the 2007 edition of the Phil Georgeff Festival of Racing to be held Nov. 3.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Classic Campaign entered the $150,000 Robert F. Carey Memorial Handicap (gr. IIIT) without a win in his last six starts. But the Kinsman Stable homebred proved he was right where he belonged, rallying from fourth place at the top of the stretch to overtake Crested (GB) by a nose on the Hawthorne turf Sept. 29.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Trainer Greg Foley will send graded stakes winner Pleasant Hill in search of her fourth career victory when 12 fillies and mares go postward in the Sept. 29 Kentucky Cup Distaff (gr. III) at Turfway.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Illinois horse racing is mired in a "downward spiral that will require action by state government to save it," Hawthorne Race Course President Tim Carey said as his track prepared to open the 2007 Illinois Thoroughbred season Friday.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Management at Hawthorne Race Course announced that its Pick 6 takeout -- the percentage of the wagering pool that is withheld by the state -- has been reduced to 16% for the 2007 spring meet.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Despite having one of the highest starters per race averages in the country, Hawthorne's betting declined across the board during the fall meet that began Sept. 15 and ended Dec. 31.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Jockey Rene Douglas, banned from Calder Race Course in south Florida for unknown reasons, was back in the saddle Jan. 1, riding James DiVito-trained Gostoso to a seventh-place finish in the seventh race at Hawthorne.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
With less than one week remaining until the start of the 2007 racing season, officials at Gulfstream Park said they would not grant access to the 10 jockeys banned from other tracks this month.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Hawthorne will forgo live racing on Sunday, Dec. 24, and will instead run a full card on Tuesday, Dec. 26, the track announced.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Due to high winds gusting up to 40 mph, Hawthorne Race Course canceled its live racing program for Thursday.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Jockeys Jesse Campbell and Earlie Fires both escaped serious injury following an accident during the running of Hawthorne's second race on Thursday.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Two of the Chicago circuit's top riders, Eddie Razo Jr. and Francisco Torres, are expected to miss up to six weeks of action due to injuries suffered in separate incidents on Saturday at Hawthorne.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The Illinois Racing Board awarded 2007 racing dates Sept. 19, and the schedule is similar to that of this year.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Hawthorne Race Course, which opens for live racing Sept. 15, and TVG have ended their exclusive contract, which led the Illinois track to strike deals with Youbet.com and XpressBet to offer wagering on its signal.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Chicago-area Thoroughbred racing action shifts Sept 15 to Hawthorne Race Course, where officials are encouraged by the number of stall applications--2,400 for 2,050 spots. Last fall, Hawthorne averaged more than nine horses per race.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Duchossois Industries of Illinois has called in a more than $20-million note owed by the National Jockey Club, a move that threatens NJC plans for a 2007 spring meet at Hawthorne Race Course.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Defending champion Hollywood Story will attempt to snap a seven-race losing streak in Sunday's $100,000 Hawthorne Handicap (gr. III) at Hollywood Park.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Jockey Abdiel Toribio is expected to miss at least three weeks after he suffered a broken bone in his hand as the result of a spill in Friday's ninth race at Hawthorne.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Fueled by an increase in purses to begin the meet and the fullest fields in Illinois, Hawthorne posted an increase in total handle on live racing during the 2005 fall Thoroughbred meet.
Monday, January 02, 2006
The Jan. 2 closing-day Thoroughbred program at Hawthorne Race Course may be the last live racing action of any kind in the Chicago area for a while. A dispute over purses has resulted in cancellation of harness racing at Balmoral Park and Maywood Park on the first two days of the New Year.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Live racing skidded to a halt at two Midwestern tracks as a result of a winter storm that hit the area Thursday.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Racing at Hoosier Park was canceled Wednesday night following the third race due to increasingly poor track conditions. An accident in the first race sent jockey Hector Rosario Jr. to the hospital.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Heavy wind gusts caused unsafe conditions and forced the cancellation of live racing at both Woodbine and Hawthorne Sunday.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
The 17-year-old apprentice Kyle Kaenel, out since April with two fractured vertebrae and a broken shoulder, rode his first winner since being injured when he brought home Edward Fortino's 3-year-old Dobson in the sixth race at Hawthorne on Sunday.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Hawthorne isn't wasting any time presenting its premier event. Just two days into the meeting, the Chicago track will host the $750,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (gr. II), and those ready to battle it out in Saturday's 1 1/4-mile race include the past two winners.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Arlington Park will run from May 5 to Sept. 14 next year, a total of 95 racing dates under the schedule announced by the Illinois Racing Board.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Hawthorne Race Course in Chicago announced an across-the-board purse increase for its meeting that will run Sept. 23 through Dec. 31.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Sumaya Us Stables' Isola Piu Bella has been installed as the morning line favorite for Saturday's $250,000 Sixty Sails Handicap (gr. III) at Hawthorne.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
With few standouts to emerge on the Kentucky Derby trail, a field of nine will be headed to Saturday's $500,000 Illinois Derby (gr. II) Hawthorne Park to see if they are the next to jump up and make a splash in the 3-year-old division.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Full race fields helped handle figures stay on par during the fall Thoroughbred meet at Hawthorne racecourse that ended Sunday.
Monday, January 03, 2005
The National Jockey Club is suing its former partner in the ill-fated auto racing track built at Sportsman's Park for failing to pay over $35 million in debt from the project.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Bare Necessities, winner of the 2003 Sixty Sails Handicap at Hawthorne Race Course, will look to make it two years in a row when she returns to the Illinois track for the grade III, 1 1/8-mile event for fillies and mares April 24.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Ten Most Wanted heads a list of 19 nominees for the running of the $250,000
National Jockey Club Handicap (gr. III) at Hawthorne Race Course, which will be contested over 1 1/8-miles on April 17.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
