The Grade 3 Hawthorne Derby

As the leaves start to turn and crisp nights follow warm days, Illinois turf racing starts to become a scarce but desirable commodity. On Saturday, October 10^th, Hawthorne Race Course will showcase some of the best 3-year-old turf specialists currently in training. That date will mark the 45^th anniversary of the Hawthorne Derby, Illinois’ last graded stakes race of the year.

 The incredible Bold Bidder won the initial running in 1965,

Originally known as the Hawthorne Diamond Jubilee, the Hawthorne Derby has gone through numerous transformations but the biggest, and most lasting, was the move to turf; a move that took place in 1984. Pass the Line was the winner of that event. Incidentally, to prove that he was no one-hit wonder, he came back the following year, in a mile and a quarter event, and set a track record, which still stands today.

In 1991, Sam-Son Farms’ Rainbows for Life set a track and stakes record; getting the mile and one eighth in an incredible 1:44.3, just a couple of ticks off the world record. That mark has never been equaled locally.

Local connections, owner Richard Raven, trainer Larry Rivelli, and rider E. T. Baird, teamed up to win the 2008 Hawthorne Derby with Strait of Mewsina. There is a decent mix of locally-based runners and shippers in this one.

Linemaker Jim Miller pegged Glen Hill Farm’s No Inflation as the 3-1 morning-line favorite. This talented runner comes off the best race of his career; a six and a quarter wire-to-wire romp in the Grade 3 Kent at Delaware. This Tom Proctor charge had been knocking at the door prior to that race with a better-than-expected finish in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame at Saratoga, preceded by great efforts in the Great 2 American Derby and Arlington Classic at Arlington Park and the Grade 2 Jefferson Cup at Churchill Downs. Rosemary Homeister Jr, who was aboard for the Kent victory, gets the return call.

One interesting entrant is the Danny Miller-trained Romacaca. This multiple stakes winner finished second in the Grade 3 Pucker Up at Arlington in her most recent start. However, we have to pay attention to the ‘her’ in that sentence. Romacaca is a 3-year-old filly taking on the boys. But, she does own very good speed, she’ll keep E. T. Baird in the irons, and she races in the colors of Frank Calabrese, one of the top owners in the business. Plus…she likes to win.

The complete field is as follows:

#_        Horse              ______Jockey            Trainer            _____Weight  M/L

1          Cosmic King                J Alvarado        Shannon Ritter              114      10-1

1a        Empty Handed             J Alvarado        Shannon Ritter              114      10-1

2          Romacaca                    E T Baird         Danny Miller                 113      7-2

3          Jack Spratt                   V Lebron         Michael Maker             120      12-1

4          Quite A Handful           Randy Meier    Andrew Hansen            114      10-1

5          Sir Al                           T Thornton       William Morey              114      6-1

6          Proceed Bee                C Emigh           Scott Becker                120      5-1

7          No Inflation                  R Homeister     Thomas Proctor            122      3-1

8          Two Ninety Five           Terry Young     I Karlsson                    114      20-1

9          Out At Night                J Rocco            Randy Martin               114      9-2