19 Oct 2018

By Mike Paradise There comes a time when you realize you can’t do something as well as you did earlier in life. For Illinois Harness Hall of Fame driver Jerry Graham that realization came 11 more

12 Oct 2018

By Mike Paradise Let’s look back eleven years to 2007. It was a much different harness racing schedule in Illinois and while Hawthorne hosted its Night of Champions their showcase event came a lot earlier more

5 Oct 2018

By Mike Paradise Driver Kyle Husted is back on the east coast with his stable of horses but not before he left town on a high note, bringing home three winners of Hawthorne’s Night of more

29 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise They say figures don’t lie so here are some facts and figures from last weekend’s Night of Champions that may surprise you. ***The total handle on the Night of Champions was $1,163,938 more

28 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Saturday’s Fall Classic at the Springfield Fairgrounds got a ringing indorsement from Illinois harness horsemen when 75 Illinois conceived and foaled 2 and 3-year-olds were entered, enabling 14 races to be carded more

24 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise It doesn’t seem that long ago that Hawthorne’s summer harness racing meet got under way and the start of summer was still on the on the horizon. Sadly summer officially came to more

23 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Long-time Illinois horseman Steve Searle has been in the business for 40-plus years and some were lean ones at that however the 59-year-old Grant Park, Illinois resident had his night to bask more

22 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise The most anticipated Illinois harness racing program of the year has arrived. It’s Hawthorne’s Night of Champions with eleven ICF championships on the line and over $1.16 million in purse money up more

21 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Springfield based trainer Mike Brink will ship in five youngsters for Hawthorne’s Night of Champions Saturday night and three of his ICF horses will very likely get a lot of play at more

20 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise He’s back. In this case the “He” is the talented three-year-old ICF pacer, Fox Valley Gemini, winner of his first 16 career starts before the Yankee Skyscraper was defeated in both of more

16 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Driver Kyle Husted had himself a Saturday night to remember. The 27-year-old Illinois native was at the lines of the first three winning horses in the final legs of the Night of more

15 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise The draws for fourth and final legs of Friday’s Night Of Champion stakes series have brought about a number of interesting story lines. In certain cases it will enable some ICF horses more

14 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise It’s been said countless times the better the purses, the better the horses. It’s no different now than it was back in last century’s glory days of harness racing in Illinois. Once more

13 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Hawthorne’s Night of Champions, a week from Saturday, got a boost both on and off the racetrack when management announced that a pair of $25,000 open company Invitational events will be added more

9 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise It’s often said that consistency is a virtue and if that’s the case the 4-year-old ICF trotter Picky Picky Valor has earned the title has the most virtuous trotter at the Hawthorne more

8 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise The Hawthorne spotlight switches over to Illinois conceived and foaled 2-year-old colts and geldings of both gaits Saturday evening with third round action of the Night of Champions stakes series. In some more

7 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise This weekend’s third leg of the Night of Champion series will go a long way to determining which freshmen will be competing on Hawthorne’s September 22 showcase evening of racing in a more

6 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Hawthorne’s four lives days of racing a week format returns tonight with a card that should look familiar. They’re the nine races not contested last Friday night, when a severe thunderstorm ended more

2 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise As it turns out last Friday’s last nine races weren’t cancelled because of the torrential rains that rolled thru the Chicago area . . . they were just postponed. They’ve been moved more

1 Sep 2018

By Mike Paradise Racing resumes Saturday evening at Hawthorne after a severe thunderstorm rolled into the Chicago area last night, cancelling Friday’s card after only the first two races were completed. While Saturday’s third race more

31 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise The Terry Leonard’s Stable’s Ponda’s Prospect is the current kingpin of Hawthorne’s Open Pace after a pair of dominating victories the last two weekends with driver Casey Leonard. The 4-year-old gelding is more

30 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise The two-day harness racing meet at the u Du Quoin State Fair concluded Wednesday afternoon with stunning upset in the $25,000 Dudley Hanover stake for ICF 3-year-old male pacers. Springfield champion You’remyheartrob more

29 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise The abbreviated two-day harness racing meet at the Du Quoin State Fair comes to an end Wednesday but not before five more ICF championships are decided on an 11-race program that gets more

28 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise The two-day harness racing meet at the Du Quoin State Fair gets under way this morning with five ICF champions for either 2 or 3-year-olds to be decided plus a couple of more

26 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise The fields have been drawn for the upcoming two-day Du Quoin State Fair harness racing meet. Five ICF championships will be decided on Tuesday’s opening day card with an 11 am first more

25 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise Bucklegirl Bobette, the reigning queen of Hawthorne, will attempt Saturday night to prevail where the last three horses have failed . . . finish first from the assigned 10-hole in a six more

24 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise When the draw comes out Saturday for the first day of racing at Du Quoin, one Springfield champion isn’t likely to be on the list of entered horses to make the trip more

23 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise After a successful Springfield State Fair meeting behind him, veteran trainer Steve Searle has his talented young trotters pointed to Du Quoin State Fair. The brief two-day meet is next Tuesday afternoon more

19 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise When the trotting star of the Jim Eaton stable Walter White goes postward in Sunday’s Open Trot he’ll be trying to do something that his two biggest rivals in the race failed more

18 Aug 2018

By Mike Paradise Bucklegirl Bobette, the reigning queen of Hawthorne Race Couse, is back in town to head up Saturday night’s Open Pace feature for fillies and mares and she’ll find some fresh faces going more