Hawthorne
Race Course
Contact : (708) 780-3700
For Immediate Release
Grade 2 Gold Cup Headlines
Hawthorne Fall Stakes Schedule
STICKNEY, IL – The marquee race of the fall meet, the Grade
2, $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap will again headline the stakes schedule
for the fall meet which was approved by the Illinois Racing Board on Tuesday
morning. With the release of the funds
from the casino impact fees last fall and on the heels of an extremely
successful spring meet, the stakes for the fall have
been increased, totaling $1.9 million.
This fall
there will be stakes events taking place every weekend in October. Opening weekend gets the traditional fall
kickoff with the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup as the feature. This race has been placed as a stepping stone
for horses looking for a final prep to both the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Breeders’
Cup Marathon. In addition to the Gold
Cup on October 6, a pair of traditional turf races return
to their $100,000 purse mark. The Indian
Maid Handicap and Robert F. Carey Memorial, both taking place on the turf, will
be run on Hawthorne Gold Cup day. The
following week will feature three-year-old runners on the turf in the running
of the Grade 3, $200,000 Hawthorne Derby.
The
following weekend will begin the first of three weekends of Illinois-bred
stakes races with older sprinters taking to the track in the $125,000 added
Powerless Handicap for females and the $125,000 added Lightning Jet Handicap
for males. The next weekend, October 20,
will feature older state-bred route runners on the turf with the Illini
Princess Handicap for females and Buck’s Boy Handicap for the boys, each at 1
1/16 miles and carrying a purse of $125,000 added. Taking a week off from local stakes to focus
on Breeders’ Cup weekend on November 2 and 3, state-bred two-year olds are in
the spotlight on November 10. That day
the young fillies will sprint in the $125,000 added Showtime Deb Stakes while
males compete in the $125,000 added Sun Power Stakes.
A pair of
late season races for younger horses received a boost to $125,000 as the Pat
Whitworth Illinois Debutante will be run on December 1. The following week the boys will go two turns
in the $125,000 Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity.
The
complete stakes schedule for Hawthorne’s fall meet:
Date Race Purse Age/Sex Distance
Sat, Oct. 6 Hawthorne
Gold Cup (Grade 2) $500,000 3yo & up 1 ¼ miles
Sat, Oct. 6 Indian
Maid Handicap $100,000 3yo & up, f&m 1 1/16 miles – turf
Sat, Oct. 6 Robert
F. Carey Memorial $100,000 3yo & up 1 1/8 miles
– turf
Sat, Oct. 13 Hawthorne
Derby (Grade 3) $200,000 3yo 1
1/8 miles – turf
Sat, Oct. 20 Powerless
Hcp. (IL) $125,000
A 3yo & up, f&m 6 furlongs
Sat, Oct. 20 Lightning
Jet Hcp. (IL) $125,000
A 3yo & up 6 furlongs
Sat, Oct 27 Illini
Princess Hcp. (IL) $125,000
A 3yo & up, f&m 1 1/16 miles – turf
Sat, Oct 27 Buck’s
Boy Hcp. (IL) $125,000
A 3yo & up 1 1/16 miles – turf
Sat, Nov. 10 Showtime
Deb Stakes (IL) $125,000 A 2yo fillies 6
furlongs
Sat, Nov. 10 Sun Power
Stakes (IL) $125,000
A 2yo colts & geldings 6 furlongs
Sat, Dec. 1 Pat
Whitworth IL Debutante (IL) $125,000 2yo fillies 1 1/16 miles
Sat, Dec. 8 Jim
Edgar Illinois Futurity (IL) $125,000 2yo colts & geldings 1 1/16 miles
“We felt
that the stakes schedule had some great anchor races in the Hawthorne Gold Cup
and the Hawthorne Derby,” stated Assistant General Manager Jim Miller. “At a
half million dollar purse, the Grade 2 Gold Cup has become a focus for horsemen
as they prepare for the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Marathon. Our main changes came in breaking up the
Illinois stakes to cover three weekends instead of all being run the same
weekend. We did this for a few reasons. First, we wanted to create stakes event
weekends every weekend in October.
Second, with the older Illinois-bred runners, we are hoping the fields
will be larger with the races moved to the turf. Finally, by moving the two-year-old stakes to
the second weekend in November, we will allow for more young horses to break
their maidens and make allowance starts, also allowing those horses to get
starts over the Hawthorne dirt surface.”
Live racing
returns to Hawthorne on Wednesday, October 3 and concludes Sunday, December 30. Live racing will be conducted every
Wednesday-Sunday. First post daily is 1:40 PM with Friday post time at 2:40 PM
through November 23. Hawthorne Race Course
is located in Stickney IL at 3501 S. Laramie Ave. For information on live racing or groups at
Hawthorne Race Course, contact Hawthorne at
708-780-3700 or visit Hawthorne
online at www.Hawthorneracecourse.com
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