The Perry Smith stable’s Town Gossip, driven here by Todd Warren, is one of the contenders in Friday’s Open Pace at Hawthorne. (Four Footed Fotos).

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

  If it seems that every week there is a new winner of a Hawthrone Open, it’s because it is a fact. Six different pacers have been victorious in the top overnight event in as many opportunities.

 Will that trend continue Friday night? There is a 50-50 chance it will.

  Of the eight starters in the $11,100 Friday headliner, four have visited the Hawthorne winner’s circle after an Open event—Great Seats (Wyatt Avenatti), Captain Sleaze (Casey Leonard, Intimidation (Todd Warren) and Truffle Dog (Kyle Husted).

  They’ll be challenged by Town Gossip (Travis Seekman) and Bet Mine (Jordan Patton), both coming off wins in Hawthorne conditioned races; Away We Go A, a $30,000 claimer at Hoosier from the barn of Ronnie Roberts making his local debut, and Fox Valley Langley (Geremy Bobbitt), the third-place finisher in last week’s Hawthorne Open.

 A strong indication that Friday’s open is a wide-open event is that Great Seats, from the barn of David Avenatti, is only a 7-2 opening money line favorite. No horse in the field will open at double digit odds

 Just as he has the last few weeks, trainer Perry Smith will send out a one-two punch in the local open. This time it’s Town Gossip (p.p.) and last weekend’s Open winner Truffle Dog (pp 7). Earlier Perry’s Round Here Buzz won the November 15th Open. Tonight the pacer, and previous Hawthorne Open starters Play Me Rock and Mustang Beach will be competing in Ohio.

 Both Town Gossip and Truffle Dog were $30,000 claiming acquisitions by Perry, the former in early August of this year and the latter in April of 2023. Each took a different route to become an Open pacer.

 The 6-year-old Town Gossip made almost $425,000 racing as a 2 and 3-year-old, earning the vast majority of his money on the New York Sire Stakes circuit. Where the American Ideal gelding won a number of five-figure events and finished second both years in the $200,000-plus finals.

 Truffle Dog, a 7-year-old son of Sunshine Beach, didn’t race as a 2-year-old and only made $12,309 in his sophomore campaign. However, as he got older, he got better, taking a mark of 1:49.2 at The Meadowlands in 2022 at the age of 5, and banking almost $80,000. He’s put almost $60,000 on his card this year.

 Intimidation, owned by his trainer and driver Todd Warren of Monee, Illinois and Lester Peters of Beecher, Illinois, uncorked a 26 flat last panel in is November 15 Open triumph. Transportation problems prevented the 4-year-old Captaintreacherous gelding, an 8-time winner in 2024, from competing in last week’s Open. The draw wasn’t kind to Intidmaton. He landed the outside eight slot.