Hawthorne Has Successful Spring Meet

Hawthorne Race Course's ended its 23-day spring meet with double digit increases in average on-track, full card, and total all-sources handle.

The average daily on-track handle rose 14.6% to $90,699 while out-of-state wagering on the Chicago-area track's races rose 16.3% to an average $60,947. Total on-track wagering dropped 12.2% to $2,086,087 because Hawthorne raced 30 days last year.

Predictably, total handle dropped 4.6% to $3,467,986 because of the fewer racing days while the average total handle increased 24.4% to $150,782. Despite running 30% fewer days, however, total wagering on full card simulcasting increased 9.6% to $1,381,899 and the average daily full card handle was up 43% to $60,083.

Field size rose a slight 1% to an average of 8.57 runners per race.
Tom Tomillo won the spring meet training title with 13 wins. Tomillo also took the title during Hawthorne's fall meet.

Jockey Shane Laviolette won his second consecutive Hawthorne riding title with 19 wins, a one-win advantage over runner-up Jesse Campbell. Lothenbach Stables and Louis J. Roussel tied for leading owner with five victories each.