A total of 130 horses will be coming out of the final turn tonight on Hawthorne’s 13-race program with all 10-horse fields. (Four Footed Fotos)

By Mike Paradise

There are those in our industry that believe the best way to a good nightly mutuel handle is to race full fields on a mile track regardless of the class level of the horses.

If these horse players are on target then Hawthorne could hit the bullseye Sunday night handle-wise. Its Race Office has delivered in a big way the numbers to do so tonight.

It’s a 13-race card and every event has a full field of 10 horses across. Plus you won’t find a lot of prohibitive favorites. The vast majority of the races offer very competitive fields and could make for some large gimmick pools.

The one negative for tonight is that it’s a holiday weekend and history shows those are not always good nights for the handle. However, the Covid virus still a serious problem and it’s keeping a lot of people home—with their computer or hand held device available—and not traveling about like they would normally do.

The Sunday headliner is the ninth race $8,100 conditioned pace for fillies and mares with four of the starters—Windsum Brooklyn, Sweeter Machine, Look Kimbo and Suddenly Royal—dropping out of the Open Pace ranks.

Sunday’s schedule Open had to be scrapped when only four mares entered.

Advantage to Mimi? Now that we are in July you’ll see a lot more two-year-olds in action. The second and ninth races are for juveniles and all but two of the 20 babies going to the gate are making their debut.

When going through the second race for freshman fillies the No. 1 horse Always A Mimi (Mike Oosting) caught my eye when I noticed her dam is Sportsmisteress. It sounded familiar and a little research revealed that the Mike Brink trainee is a half-sister to the former ICF champion Home Bed Advantage who was a terror in the middle of the century’s first decade.

In 2008 Home Bed Advantage racked up victories in his first eight starts, including the $285,000 Orange & Blue and $63,000 Cardinal Finals for trainer Dave McCaffrey. The son of Cole Muffler out of dam Sportsmistress only season loss came in his last race of the year when he was second best in the $135,000 American National stake at Balmoral.

Home Bed Advantage, named after a popular episode on the old Jerry Seinfeld TV show, made over $247,000 in his first season and hauled in another $258,702 in his three-year-old campaign. The talented pacer took his mark of 1:51.4 at Hawthorne as a four-year-old.

Pardon My Dust: We didn’t have to wait long to determine the first of two $20,000 Cicero Claiming Series. The final for the fillies and mares came in last night’s first race and the 1-2 favorite Barley Nation (Kyle Wilfong) left no doubt she was the best.

Wilfong sent the Derek Burkland trainee out from the three-slot and the six-year-old mare showed her heels to the field, cutting fractions of 27.1, 27.4, 27.3 and 29.4, and finishing more than four lengths ahead of Unbroken Circle. The winning 1:51.4 mile was Barley Nation’s third victory in her last four Hawthorne starts for Michigan owner Britney Dillion

Several races later the $20,000 claiming final for “the boys” saw Salvatore ($5.00) prevail with Casey Leonard to give a sweep of the series championship to the Burkland stable and owner Britney Dillion. Salvatore was one of five winning drivers on the card for Casey.

Leonard got Salvatore away third and on the backside moved the five-year-old ICF pacer to the front, ahead of the pace-setting Fox Valley Hijinx. The even-money choice Youmakemyheartsing (Kyle Wilfong) had to take a lot of air through a 27.2 third quarter to draw even with Salvatore near the top of the lane but couldn’t get past.

Salvatore ended up a half-length ahead of Fox Valley Hinjix at the end of the 1:52.3 mile with a fast closing (26.3) Gold Star Lambeau (Cordarius Stewart) coming on for third.

She’s Back: Despite a tough trip the six-year-old ICF mare Anna s Lucky Star ($5.80) captured Saturday’s $10,500 Open Trot with her regular driver Kyle Wilng, one length ahead of Pine Dream (Todd Warren). It was career victory 35 for the Nelson Willis trained trotter owned by her breeder Danny Graham of Salem, Illinois, and the mare’s first in three starts for this season.

By Mike Paradise

With one ICF stake events after another taking place since racing resume at Hawthorne at two Cicero Claiming Series has gotten very little exposure.

Well, that will change tonight.

Since both the male and female Cicero claiming showdowns are presenting $20,000 purses on Saturday’s card let’s give the two-leg series finalists their due.

Musical Barns: The first race Cicero final for fillies and mares has some interesting notes. The finalist Jazzie Babe will compete tonight for her third different barn and owners in as many series starts.

The now eight-year-old mare was nominated and raced for trainer and owner Perry Smith in her winning round one contest a few weeks ago and was claimed by trainer Hosea Williams for her original proprietor Wayne Temple and Joe Sollars.

Jazzie Babe went off stride early in last Saturday’s second leg and was distanced when she was claimed again, this time by trainer Nelson Willis for the Megan Rogers Racing Stable of Chicano, Illinois.

Despite the fact that Jazzie Babe is racing for yet another new barn, Travis Seekman has remained the six-year-old mare’s driver in every series round.

Unbroken Circle switched barns after a third place finish in the opening leg when the veteran mare was plucked by trainer Terry Leonard for Shorewood Illinois owner OB Stables at a price of $11,000. The new Leonard addition also finished third in round two last weekend.

Youmakemyheartsing (Kyle Wilfong) is the early favorite to capture tonight’s $20,000 Cicero Claiming Series Final for male pacers. (Four Footed Fotos),

Last Saturday’s first of two Cicero Claiming Series legs saw Barley Nation win for the third time in her last four Hawthorne starts in front-end fashion with Kyle Wilfong for trainer Derek Burkland. She’ll open up as the 8-5 programmed favorite.

Jazzie Babe (pp 4, Travis Seekman), Barley Nation (pp 3, Kyle Wilfong) and Unbroken Circle (pp 6 Casey Leonard) no doubt will get the majority of the public’s wagering money when they’ll be tested by Rue Hanover (Jim Lackey), Helen’s Girl (Todd Warren), Rushing Reba (Tyler Shehan), Fox Valley Sierra (Ridge Warren), Dads Filly (Frank Petrell) and Blissful Pansy (Matt Krueger)

More Stable Switching: The ninth race Cicero $20,000 claiming series final for horses and geldings also saw some moving around of horses prior to tonight’s showdown.

The six-year-old pacer Salvatore, who started the year in the Terry Leonard stable, was claimed in mid-February by trainer Eugene Gilleman for $7,000. In his first leg of the Cicero Series the Illinois bred broke on the move and was taken for $10,000 by trainer Derek Burkland for Michigan owner Britney Dillion. The Sagebrush gelding did well to be third leaving from the second tier (pp 11) last week and now gets a huge help in his starting point with the pole position tonight. He’s the early 2-1 second choice.

Last Saturday’s second round winner was Youmakemyheartsing (pp 6, Kyle Wilfong) a five-year-old home-bred of the Wilfong family. Earlier at the meet Youmakemyheartsing raced in consecutive Hawthorne Open III events, so he was well placed in this series. With a second and a first the five-year-old son of Some Heart Throb has made $8,500 the past two weeks and will be the 8-5 first flash favorite.

First leg winner Fox Valley Hijinx (4-1, Kyle Husted) drew well with the two-slot after last week’s third place finish.

Buff’s Image (Todd Warren), Donegal Jim (Tyler Shehan), Mitch Mc Bluegrass (Matt Krueger), Meethedragon (Juan Franco) and Gold Star Lambeau (Cordarius Stewart).

The Chupp Racing Stable’s Pine Dream (Todd Warren) goes after his second straight Open Trot victory tonight in Saturday’s seventh race, (Four Footed Fotos)

Open Trot Grows: Also on tap Saturday night is the circuit’s Open Trot and tonight’s field grew to eight starters from last week’s six with Scott Galloway’s Double A Cash Call (pp 4, Todd Warren) back in action and the arrival from the Meadowlands of the veteran trotter Very Very Fast, now under the care of trainer Rob Rittoff for Shorewood, Illinois owners OB Stables.

While Very Very Fast didn’t perform well in his first two starts back following the Covid 19 layoff, the 11-year-old French bred trotter did secure a pair of $50,000 claiming events at The Big M earlier in the year.

Very Very Fast didn’t come to the United States until the age of nine. He’s earned the bulk of his $529,318 career bankroll in Europe however the gelding did put over $132,000 on his card in 2019, his second year in our country. He has added almost $43,000 more in 2020 with only nine outings.

Handicapped and drawn by groups (1-4) (5-6) and (7-8), the first four slots tonight belong to Bo Nanza Chip (Juan Franco), Lourhianon (Tyler Shehan), Louscardamon (Kyle Husted) and Double A Cash Call (Todd Warren),

The five and six posts will be manned by Very Very Fast (Travis Seekman) and the ICF champion mare Annas Lucky Star (Kyle Wilfong). Call For Justice (Casey Leonard) drew the seven while last week’s front-end victor Pine Dream (Todd Warren) will have to sprint out from the outside eight-slot.

In Peak Form: The Terry Leonard stable’s ICF kingpin Fox Valley Gemini ($3.20) roared down the stretch with driver Casey Leonard to make it three consecutive victories in the $10,500 Open Pace. The five-year-old gelding uncorked a 26 flat last panel at the end of his 1:50.4 mile.

Click below to read more from Mike Paradise’ story.

http://harnessillinois.com/mike-paradise-stories-and-selections/

By Mike Paradise

All of us at various times in our life meet with people who spend too much of their time whining.

You’ve heard them: “It’s too hot. It’s too cold. It’s too humid. The track’s too hard. My horses always draw bad.” If it wasn’t one thing it was another.

One of those people in our industry who definitely isn’t that kind of person is the Hawthorne based trainer John Hughes.

“You won’t ever hear me complain,” the Mississippi native said in a recent phone interview. “Not from me. I appreciate everything I have and I’ll keep working hard to make things even better for my family and myself.”

Maybe Hughes has such a positive outlook on life because he’s already been through rougher issues that most of us have never had to endure, or for that matter, even think about.

Hughes spent 19 years serving his country in the United States Army and while most of us never ventured more than a few feet from a television to watch clips of the endless wars in the Middle East, Hughes was thousands of miles away helping protect our freedoms and often doing so in “Harm’s Way.”

“I served two tours in Iraq,” said John, who is better known as “Man” by most everybody who knows the 42-year-old horseman. “The first tour was for 16 months and the second for 18 months.”

After 19 years of service Hughes was given a honorable discharge from the Army for “medical reasons,” explained the father of six (four boys and two girls). “I was shot in the leg and later I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

After hours and hours of therapy to deal with PTSD Hughes began working and driving harness horses and fell in love with horses doing it. “Horses have become my therapy,” said Hughes. While this is only his second year as a professional trainer, he has been involved with Standardbreds in his home state for several years.

One of Hawthorne trainer John Hughes’s winners at the Hawthorne meet was the mare Full Of Laughs, showed here drawing off with Cordarius Stewart a couple of weekends ago. (Four Footed Fotos)

“We would all go to a small track and race for “bragging rights,” explained Hughes. “The horses are classified in races by age and gait and usually we would throw in 20 bucks each and race with the winner taking all. It’s a lot of fun and I’ve done well doing it in Mississippi. My horse Rockin Robert owns just about all the track records there.’

“Man” doesn’t have any secrets for his post military success. “I always told my kids to just go out and do your best no matter what you’re doing. I train my horses hard and I work hard.

“Some people have asked me why I’m already doing well at Hawthorne with my horses and I’ve told them it’s because I keep them as sharp as possible for their races. Make the money while you can. You never know if this Covid virus is going to affect us once more and maybe close us down again,” added Hughes who resides in Forrest, Mississippi.

Thus far at the meet Hughes has sent out 15 horses and only once (in a Hawthorne Open) did they come back to the barn without earning a check. He’s had three winners, four seconds and a trio of thirds. Last year, his first outside of Mississippi, Hughes sent 172 horses to the gate and they delivered 20 first and second place finishes each and 19 thirds.

“(Trainer) Jamaica Patton has helped me a lot since I’ve come up to Hawthorne. I like the place and the people here. I’ve gotten to know Cordarius (Stewart) better. He’s a young talented driver who is doing well now that he has gotten more good horses to drive.

“Last year Cordarius was almost always driving long shots. I told him over the winter I was going to have some horses at Hawthorne for him to drive that would be going off more like odds of 5-2 or 3-1.”

On June 19th Stewart brought home both Hughes’ Illuminati Hanover at 4-5 odds and his three-year-old Final Prize at 8-1. Two nights later another “Man” sophomore pacer Full Of Laughs won at even-money with Cordarius.

Hughes is the type of horseman you find yourself rooting for. You can’t help but love his upbeat infectious attitude.

I know I speak for many of us in our industry: Our heartfelt thanks for your service “Man.”

Springfield Takes Over: Races will be held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield on July 7, 14, 21 and 28 with a noon post time. These events replace the races that won’t at Illinois county fairs in July.

Conditions for the July 7, 14 and 21 races are for ICF 2- and 3-year-olds that staked to the Illinois county fairs and for horses that staked to the Topline. IHHA races will also be held. All owners, trainers and drivers must be members of the IHHA.

The conditions for the July 28 races have yet to be announced.

Click below for more information on the July County Fair races now being held at the Springfield State Fairgrounds.

July County Fair Races to be held in Springfield

Bee Cee (Kyle Husted) and Tropical Rosie (Cordarius Stewart), the first two finishers in last week’s Violet trot, will tangle again in Sunday’s $12,500 second division of the Beulah Dygert Memorial stake series. It’s go as race six on the 14-race wagering card. (Four Footed Fotos)

By Mike Paradise

How competitive have the Illinois bred sophomore trotting categories been thus far? Well, so competitive that both the filly division as the colt and gelding class has produced three different winners in as many stake events.

Last weekend’s Cardinal trot went to the Mike Brink stable’s Crooked Creek after the first leg of the Erwin Dygert Mempria; saw the Tom Simmons trained Fox Valley Quest and Desert Sheik, another Brink trainee, come out on top.

In the opening round of the Beulah Dygert Fox Valley Extacy nailed down her maiden victory in the filly’s first start under the care of trainer Hector Herrera.

On the other hand, in the recent Violet trot divisions it was Steve Searle’s Bee Cee and Celone Hall, yet another Brink trainee who took co-championships.

Just what trotters this time around will prevail in Sunday’s second round of the two Dygert stakes is anyone’s guess.

Sunday’s Erwin Dygert was split into a pair of $12,500 divisions carded as races two and three last year’s Night of Champions winner Crooked Creek (Mike Oosting) a likely heavy favorite in the first split off his game 1:57.4 win a week ago.

Crooked Creek (Mike Oosting), last week’s Cardinal trot champion, heads up Sunday’s first of two Erwin F. Dygert Memorial second round divisions. (Four Footed Fotos)

Crooked Creek will be challenged by Twin Cedars Rocket (Travis Seekman), Fox Valley Kobe (Kyle Husted), Lou Paschal (Cordarius Stewart), East EO (Tyler Sheehan) On Higher Ground (Kyle Wilfong) , Lous Paisano (Scott Robbins) and Coach Cougar (Juan Franco).

The Tom Simmons Fox Valley Quest (Casey Leonard) is the trotter too beat in the second division when he seeks his twelfth victory in 17 career starts. Desert Sheik (Brandon Bates), a first round winner of the Erwin Dygert, should also get good play.

Eying an upset Sunday are Ramblin Cougar (Tyler Shehan), Mr Red Thunder (Richard S Finn), Louisnuit (Kyle Husted), Fox Valley Briton (Todd Warren), Cassy Chip (Mike Oosting) and Frazier (Jerome Daniels),

There are also two $12,000 second legs of the Beulah Dygert to be contested tonight for sophomore state-bred fillies. The Violet one-two finishers Bee Cee (pp 1, Kyle Husted) and Tropical Rosie (pp 4, Cordarius Stewar)  head-up the sixth race second division, a state-bred stake you can watch and bet on.

It’s too bad you can’t watch and wager on the first division.

The first Beulah Dygert division is going as a non-wagering race before the regular betting program and is only available to be viewed by “essential” backstretch license horsemen. The only owners currently allowed on the backside are those who are also the horse’s caretaker.

So we’ll all miss seeing Princess Poprocks, She’s Got Moxy, Fox Valley Extacy, Lous Abigail, El Oh Govner and Celone Hall slug it out. Also hidden from view will be the initial legs of the ICF two-year-old trotting stakes, the $17,500 Fox Valley Flan for fillies and the $17,500 Kadabra for colts and geldings, both seven horse freshmen fields.

I’m deducing the track’s decision makers don’t see the trio of Illinois bred stakes as “wager worthy” enough has some of the fuller fields of open company events on the 14 race betting card.

Since Sunday’s three non-betting ICF only races begin at 6:30 pm, couldn’t we have kept that same first post time and made it a 17-race wagering program? The distributed purse money would be the same and the start and finish times wouldn’t change, either

Does anybody really believe keeping current owners from watching and wagering on their young Illinois bred equine investments is going to help the future of Illinois harness racing?

Strong Debut: The Jamaica Patton trained two-year-old filly Connie On The Go, nicely handled by Ridge Warren, came on in the lane to capture the $17,500 Incredible Tillie ICF freshman stake last night.

Princess Mooss (Kyle Wilfong) also closed with a rush to be second, beaten a half-length while the pace-setting Cleary The Bomb held on for third.

Connie On The Go is a home-bred daughter of Sportsmaster owned and bred by Ron Phillips (Athens, IL) and John Carver (Rock Island, IL).

The prohibitive three-year-old favorites Sleazy Gal ($2.20, Casey Leonard) and Fox Valley Exploit ($2.20, Kyle Husted) won their second round $12,500 divisions of the Plum Peachy.

The Merv Chupp Racing Stable’s Pine Dream ($3.80), driven by Todd Warren, went wire-to-wire in 1:55 flat in the $10,500 Open Trot. Casey Leonard and Kyle Wilfong drove seven winners between them on the 13-race program with Casey bagging four and Kyle taking three,

By Mike Paradise

We’ll see our first appearance of ICF two-year-old filly pacers tonight when eight of initial crop of freshmen go postward in the first leg of the Incredible Tillie stake series.

A purse of $17,500 is on the line for the young pacing gals as they begin their march to Hawthorne’s Night of Champions on September 19. It’s just the start of the juvenile racing season and we’ll probably see more NOC hopefuls by the time the second Incredible Tillie round comes around on July 10.

Despite what the Hawthorne morning line might indicate, Saturday’s Incredible Tillie is a take-your-pick affair. These
“green” fillies are just taking “baby steps” on their way to becoming race horses so let the learning process begin.

The Kennedy Lindsay ICF trotter Lourhianon goes postward in Saturday night’s second race $10,500 Open Trot, a race the the four-year-old won a week ago but was disqualified and placed second for going inside some pylons in the first turn. (Four Footed Fotos)

From the pole position out you’ll find Ryans Secret (Cordarius Stewart), Age Of Sage (Casey Leonard), Connie On The Go (Ridge Warren), Ryansmajesticrose (James Molitor), Kandi’s Fortune (Freddie Patton Jr.), Princess Mooss (Kyle Wilfong), Dandy’s Duchess (Jamaica Patton) and Clearly The Bomb (Todd Warren).

Ryans Secret, the younger sister of Roshun Trigg’s Ole Slot Machine (1:58), already has four starts at Springfield resulting in a trio of wins and a second.

Age Of Sage was an $16,000 yearling purchased by trainer Jim Eaton and Casey Leonard chose to drive her over the fillies Connie On The Go (Ridge Warren), the 2-1 morning line favorite, and Princess Mooss (Kyle Wilfong), a Gary Rath trainee who sold for $31,000.

Ryansmajesticrose, a Flacco Family Farms home-bred, is a daughter of Caribe Royale, making her the full sister of Royale Rose (1:50) and Royale Big Guy (1:51.4).

Clearly The Bomb is an Angie Coleman and Rob Rittoff home-bred with two encouraging qualifiers prepping for tonight’s debut.

Freddie Patton Jr’s Kandi’s Fortune benefits from a three Springfield starts. The filly was bought for $9,000 as a yearling.

On the other hand Dandy’s Duchess, trained by his driver Jamaica Patton brought a price of $40,000 at the Illini Classic Sale. She’ll open at surprising 30-1 programmed odds after she made an equipment break a few days competing at Springfield.

Plum Peachy Duels: Before the ninth race Incredible Tillie field goes to the gate we’ll know the outcome of the two $12,500 second round divisions of the Plum Peachy three-year-old pace events. They’ll go as races three and five with prohibitive favorites in each.

Sleazy Gal (Casey Leonard), the Violet bridesmaid, is listed at 4 to 5 from the two-post and those odds sound about right. Her opposition is Ashlee’s Fine Girl (Todd Warren), Amazon Princess (Ridge Warren), Dancin Eyes (Cornelius Cavett), Fox Valley Nia (Kyle Wilfong) and Mollie Hotspur (Cordarius Stewart).

Meanwhile the Kyle Husted stable’s Fox Valley Exploit so far has been much the best in the state’s second season filly class. After winning the first leg of the Plum Peachy series, she dominated last week’s Violet Pace, drawing off by more than four lengths on a sloppy rain-soaked track.

Fox Valley Exploit (pp 3) will also be at 4-5 first flash odds (I made her 3-5 in my line) after her two strong recent victories. Style And Spirit (Kyle Wilfong), Sign Her Up (Juan Franco), Castielle (Casey Leonard), Double Parked (Travis Seekman) and June Dale Gram (Cordarius Stewart) will provide the competition.

Take Your Pick: The $10,500 Open Trot returns as tonight’s second race with a six horse field. The Merv Chupp stable’s Pine Dream (Todd Warren) was assigned the outside six-slot by the Hawthorne Race Office. Posts one through five were drawn.

Louzotic (Kyle Husted) landed the rail with two more state-bred trotters—Louscardamon (Casey Leonard) and Annas Lucky Star (Kyle Wilfong–getting the two and three. She’s Got Bling (Travis Seekman) has the four post and another ICF trotter, Lourhianon (Tyler Shehan) drew the five.

Lourhianon finished first in last week’s Open raced in the rain on a sloppy track however the 77-1 longshot went inside some pylons in the first turn and was disqualified to second with Louzotic awarded her third victory in six season starts for trainer Steve Searle.

It’s a well-balanced field of trotters and you could make a case for any horse in it to come out on top.

On Big Baby Step: The Flacco Family Farms home-bred Ryans Loan Shark proved best in the first round of the Incredible Finale stake series for ICF colts and geldings.

Nicely rated by his driver Cordarius Stewart Ryans Loan Shark ($9.60) went wire-to-wire in his pari-mutuel debut, covering the mile in 2 :0.21 on a sloppy racing surface. Partyatmosaplace (Ridge Warren) put on a late burst to be second, beaten by almost two lengths. Prince Of Style (Kyle Wilfong) was third.

Chalk It Up: The heavy favorites Fox Valley Ren (Casey Leonard) and He’zzz A Wize Sky (Bobby Smolin) were easy winners in their respective second round divisions of the Robert F Carey Memorial stakes.

The 1 to 9 Fox Valley Ren ($2.10) won by more than eight lengths in 1:54.1 while He’zzz A Wise Sky ($2.40) powered past in the late going to be almost three lengths better than RG’s Tracer with a 15:3.4 clocking.

Another Gem: Fox Valley Gemini (Casey Leonard) used a 26.3 last quarter to capture his third straight Open Pace victory at Hawthorne, this one in 1:53.3. Castle Flight was scratched due to the sloppy race track conditions.

RG’s Tracer (No. 1) and Mighty Tony Mac (Np. 5), the one-two finishers in a $21,450 division of last week’s Cardinal Pace, will be back in action this week. RG’s Tracer competes Friday night in round two of the Incredible Finale Stake Series for ICF three-year-old pacing colts and geldings. (Four Footed Fotos)

By Mike Paradise

We’re only a few days away from the start of July, one of the hottest months of the year, however the parade of ICF stake races have already been sizzling at the Hawthorne meet and this weekend they could boil over in sheer numbers.

Not only will there be stake races contested for three-year-old state breds for a third consecutive week but we’ll also get our first look at the ICF freshman class with the opening rounds of the juvenile Night of Champions series.

Some of those babies are on display tonight in the first leg of the $17,500 Incredible Finale stakes series for pacing colts and geldings.

The eighth race two-year-old stake consists of Partyatmosaplace (Ridge Warren), Ashlee’s Fine Gal (William Patrick De Long), Ideal Big Guy (Casey Leonard), Prince Of Style (Kyle Wilfong), Frontier Charley (Kyle Husted), Ryans Loan Shark (Cordarius Stewart) and Sagebrush Skip (Ryan Anderson).

We have some information on tonight’s juvenile field that is worth noting:

Ashlee’s Fine Guy sold for $36,000 and is a half-brother to Special Joe (1:49.4, $415,617) and Raging Cam (1:50.4) and a full bro to Ashlee’s Fine Lady (1:53.2).

Frontier Charley sold for $24,000 as a yearling and her dam Cuzurinittowin’s first foal was a 1:49.2 pacer who had almost $700,000 in career earnings.

Ideal Big Guy, one of two Terry Leonard trainees in the race, was bought for $19,000 and his brother is Ashlee’s Joy (1:54.2) while his stablemate Partyatmosaplace (pp 1) is the Watson Stable home-bred brother of Mimosa Party (1:52.3).

One advantage this year’s crop of ICF two-year-olds will have over past freshmen classes is that they won’t be bothered by the distraction of crowd noises since now a days we  have no spectators.

Nevertheless some of these youngsters could be skittish as they go postward in a pari-mutuel race for the first time. So expect the unexpected, especially at this time of the year, for these babies who have a lot to learn racing-wise.

Trashytonguetalker (Casey Leonard) has his sights set on a sweep in Friday night’s Club Hawthorne Mini Series for the Terry Leonard Stable. The $10,000 Final goes as race twelve. (Four Footed Fotos)

Not This Time: The current top two ICF three-year-old male pacers Fox Valley Ren and He’zzz A Wise Sky have already given us two classic battles this season and while they’ll be in action Friday night, it won’t be against each other.

Fox Valley Ren and He’zzz A Wise Sky landed in different Robert F. Carey divisions. Fox Valley Ren (Kyle Wilfong) has the five-slot in the sixth race six horse field while He’zzz A Wise Sky (Bobby Smolin) ended up with the five in the ninth race second $12,500 Carey split. Both will be heavy favorites.

The Nelson Willis stable’s Fox Valley Ren (Kyle Wilfong) is two-for-two after again holding of last year’s Night of Champions winner He’zzz A Wise Sky, last time in their Cardinal match-up.

It’s Back: The top Open Pace returns tonight and that means Illinois champion Fox Valley Gemini (Casey Leonard) and two-time Open meet winner Castle Flight (Kyle Wilfong) will knock heads for the fourth time of the meet.

Thus far the score is two to one in favor of Castle Flight, from the barn of Derek Burklund, but it was all Fox Valley Gemini when the pair met two weeks ago. The pride of the Terry Leonard finished more than two lengths ahead of his rival who changed tactics and came from out of it and finished third after winning his two March Open’s on the front-end.

Fox Valley Gemini (pp 7) is programmed at 7-5 while Castle Flight (pp 6) is at 9-5 first flash odds. Inside of them are (from the one post out) Account Rollover (Scott Robbins), On Duty (Jim Lackey), American Chrome (Todd Warren), Backstreet Lawyer (Kyle Husted) and Bass Player (TravisSeekman).

Now under the care of trainer by Steve Searle, Backstreet Lawyer last competed in Illinois in 2018. He was the third place finisher in the Carey championship racing for the Tom Simmons stable.

Early Post: With a larger than normal 15 race betting card first post tonight has been moved up to 6:30 pm.

The 2020 IHHA Board of Directors election will take place at it’s annual meeting on Saturday, August 22, 2020, at 12:00 noon at the IHHA office located at 15 Spinning Wheel Road, Suite 432, Hinsdale, Illinois.

Five (5) directors will be elected to serve terms of three (3) years each.  The following six (6) candidates filed petitions to be placed on the ballot for election to the board: David Brink, Clark Fairley, Juan Franco, Craig Grummel, Kyle Husted, Hosea Williams.

Ballots will be mailed to all IHHA members (in good standing as of June 30, 2020) on July 24, 2020 through the offices of Legacy Certified Public Accountants, which have been retained as the election supervisor in conjunction with Article III of the IHHA By-Laws.

By Mike Paradise

One more, or less, entry into an ICF stake race can make a huge difference for an owner, a trainer, and those fans who like to wager on Illinois racing.

Don’t think so?

Well consider for the second consecutive Sunday an important state-bred trotting stake event— which there aren’t many now a days—will not offer wagering and probably won’t be seen by most of the owners of those participating trotters. Owners are currently not allowed on the backstretch unless they are an essential caretaker for a horse.

And don’t look for the result of the race tomorrow on the Hawthorne web-site because its posted charts don’t display non-wagering races. What’s more at least some ADW platforms, such as Express Bet (the one I use), do not make available these early stake events without betting on their “Replays,” so you can’t even view them later for handicapping purposes .

At a time we’re at an all-time low of ICF yearlings in our state do we really want to do anything that discourages owners from investing in our industry?

I think not.

The Mike Brink stable’s Desert Sheik (Brandon Bates), a winner in his Erwin Dygert trot division a week ago, goes postward in tonight’s $45,900 Cardinal for ICF sophomore male trotters.

Since it’s possible we won’t have any spectators allowed at Hawthorne for the entire meeting, maybe it’s a good idea to see if we can make all the rest of our ICF stake races wagering affairs, at least for this season so they can be available on ADW platforms.

At this crucial time the need for more races on a nightly program is very much necessary. The working people in our industry have been hit hard by the Covid-19 shutdown and additional races will give them the more needed racing opportunities to try out a living .The devastating virus has produced a lengthy lockdown, costing Illinois horsemen close to 40 days of racing and doing much the same to the other racing venues nation-wide.

The Hawthorne race office entry box has been overflowing every week since we’ve been back racing. It’s the same elsewhere in the country as well. The Meadowlands Friday and yesterday had huge 18-race programs while Northfield had an abundant 16 contests. The Pennsylvania tracks racing this Sunday have 14 race cards.

A possible solution to this problem on the local scene is to race ICF stakes with less than full fields early with wagering making for some 15-race Sunday betting cards. The second round for the three-year-olds march to the Night of Champions is back on the agenda next weekend and the ICF two-year-olds stakes begin on July 10. For that matter, from July 10 to the end of that month there are state-bred stakes every weekend, perhaps some again with not very large fields.

During these extraordinary and troubling times perhaps Hawthorne management and the IHHA could get together and agree and request the Illinois Racing Board an earlier 6:30 Sunday post for 15-race wagering programs until August. I’m thinking a likely sympathetic IRB would probably grant their wishes.

It’ll make for a long day at the track for some horsemen but long days are commonplace for most who work in our industry. For example today many drivers and trainers have to be at the track in the early afternoon with seven qualifiers for two-year-olds set to be run off starting at 3:30 pm. The last Sunday wagering race will go off after 11:30.

Problems have solutions, so let’s quickly get our current dilemma fixed.

Worth Watching: With one less horse (11) in tonight’s Cardinal trotting stake than last week’s first leg (12) of the Erwin Dygert stake series, the three-year-old event for male trotters goes for a pot of $45,900 and as Sunday’s tenth race. Last week’s Opening round on the road to the Night of Champions quietly went off non-betting around 6:30 pm.

The Tom Simmons Stable’s Fox Valley Quest will try to make it back-to-back stake victories after winning his division a week by almost six lengths in 1:57.4. However, last year’s ICF freshman male trotter of the year landed the eight-slot in the 11-horse field, so he could have his work cut out to repeat.

Desert Sheik (Brandon Bates) who had a game neck triumph (1:59) in his Dygert division didn’t draw much better with the seven. Desert Sheik is one of four Mike Brink trained trotters in the Cardinal. Stable-mate Crooked Creek (Mike Oosting), a 2019 Night of Champions winner has the two-post after going off a stride a week ago. Brink also sends our Fox Valley Briton (pp 3, Todd Warren) and On Higher Ground (pp 11, Kyle Wilfong).

Fox Valley Gallant (Casey Leonard) looks to make it back-to-back winning ICF stake event when he goes to the gate in Sunday’s $45,900 Cardinal trot for three-year-old colts and geldings. (For Footed Fotos)

Rounding out the Cardinal trot are Easy EO (Tyler Shehan), Fox Valley Kobe (Kyle Wilfong), Mr Red Thunder (Richard S Finn), Lou Pascal (Cordarius Stewart), Lou Merlin (Jerome Daniels) and Fitchey For Fun (Juan Franco).

Not for Viewing: What most us will miss watching Saturday’s two early non-wagering divisions of the $21,650 Violet trots. The first consists of Tropical Rosie (Cordarius Stewart), Princess Poprocks (Freddie Patton Jr.), Bee See (Kyle Husted), Really Railee (Bobby Smolin), Lous Cover Girl (Mike Rogers) and Reign And Shine (Juan Franc).

The second $21,650 split brings out the first four finishers in last week’s Beulah Dygert—Fox Valley Extacy (Brandon Bates), Fox Valley Lush (Kyle Wilfong), Lous Abigail (Casey Leonard) and Celone Hall (Mike Oosting). The field also has El Oh Govenor (Mike Rogers) and Lous Flashy Dancer (Tyler Shehan).

Sound like a very good race to watch and wager on.

Unfortunately you can’t.

No Surprises: Saturday night’s Cardinal and Violet stakes for ICF 3-year-old pacers went to RG’s Tracer (Travis Seekman), Fox Valley Ren (Kyle Wilfong) and Fox Valley Exploit (Kyle Husted).

RG’s Tracer ($3.40) won his $21,450 Cardinal division I front-end fashion as did Fox Valley Ren ($4.20) in his 1:53.3 split. The latter went unchallenged through slow middle quarters (29.4 and 30.1) and finished with a sizzling 25.2 last panel to hold off the same fast closing time of runner-up He’zzz A Wise Sky (Bobby Smolin) in the 1:53 flat mile.

Fox Valley Exploit ($2.80) overtook the pace-setting Sleazy Gal (Casey Leonard) in the lane and drew off by four-plus lengths in her 1:55.2 Violet triumph for driver and trainer Kyle Husted. The Violet and other later races were contested on a sloppy surface after rain pelted the racetrack about mid-way of the 13-race card.