However Hawthorne’s dates are only for Thoroughbred racing. From Harnessracing.com-
The Illinois Racing Board has awarded 2009 racing dates and only Balmoral Park and Maywood Park will host Standardbreds, with Hawthorne only receiving dates for Thoroughbred racing.
Maywood Park will race on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, with Balmoral racing on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4. Then, both tracks will be dark for live racing, with Balmoral resuming Jan. 28 and Maywood on Jan. 29. Maywood will race through Dec. 31 on Thursdays and Fridays only, being dark on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Balmoral Park will then race through April 29, three nights per week: Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturday, but dark on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, and Easter, April 12.
The track will then be closed until May 2, when it resumes racing four nights per week—Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday—through Oct. 31. From Nov. 1 through Dec. 30, the track will go back to its three-night-a-week schedule of Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The only reason I find this news interesting is because it brings back memories from the 1970′s for me. My father owned standardbred race horses driven and trained by Bruce Nickells. Bruce, whose wife Joanne died in 2007, had stables in the Chicago Illinois and Columbus areas during the spring and summer before taking all operations to Florida for the winter.
I’ve been to Hawthorne and Maywood plus Sportsman Park, another Chicago area track at the time. Most racing I saw was at Sportsmans, but I was to races at Hawthorne and Maywood also. I remember my Hawthorne experience to this day.
On the first night of racing at Hawthorne in the summer of 1972, the racetrack suffered a power out. It was confined to the trackside area, I think a blown transformer was the reason. After a few hours, the rest of the racing program was cancelled. Including a race family’s best horse, record holder Fast Clip, was supposed to be in.
The race was re-scheduled for Tuesday, however Fast Clip never raced in it. He being a late scratch. The groom taking care of Clip, put the wraps around his legs on too tight, this cutting off the horse’s circulation to its lower legs and hooves. A very dangerous thing to do with a horse. Fast Clip did recover from what happened and a month record set a lifetime mark for himself, 156.3 at the Duquoin raceway in Illinois. The following month Fast Clip finished 2nd to Strike Out in the second heat of The Little Brown Jug. There Clip bested the record for a pacer on a half mile track at the time, in the race that is the Standardbred Pacer’s equivalent of The Kentucky Derby.
Another horseracing track in dire straits. From the Baltimore Sun-
CAMBRIDGE – The Maryland Racing Commission declared Rosecroft Raceway to be in an emergency situation yesterday and approved the track’s request to discontinue live racing for perhaps as long as two years while allowing it to simulcast races at the Prince George’s County facility.
Yesterday, at the commission’s monthly meeting, held at the off-track betting facility in Cambridge, the track’s new chief executive officer, Edward “Ted” Snell, and Kelley Rogers, president of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., presented the track’s business plan for the next two years and asked for the declaration of emergency status in order to continue being open for simulcasting.
“Economically, it’s not feasible to have the type of purses necessary to run,” Snell said after the meeting. “Simulcasting [revenue] will allow us to meet our debts and pay our bills.”
Said commission chairman John Franzone: “This is another sad day for Maryland racing. Without Rosecroft – we need that [slots] referendum. We have to realize how close we are to losing everything. Without the referendum, there is no Rosecroft and thoroughbred racing will be what Charles Town was 20 years ago – racing donkeys. Almost all of our proud history is almost out the windows. All it will be is memories.”.
That is what I think horseracing in the United States will be in 50 years, memories. Besides Rosecroft in the state of Maryland, Laurel and Pimlico are having financial difficulty. Pimlico is host to one of the sports biggest races, The Preakness.
CEI, which closed the Rosecroft doors to live racing June28, has a yearly $5.9million obligation to the thoroughbred industry as part of the 15-year Cross-Breed Agreement that was signed two years ago and a $7.2million mortgage on the racetrack. Rosecroft management has seen its yearly betting handle fall from $110million in 2005 to a projected $80million this year, according to Thomas Cooke, president of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association.
Rosecroft will save $500,000 through the end of the year by not paying purses for live racing and is saving an additional $1million through salary cuts and layoffs, Cooke said. By discontinuing live racing, he said, the track should be in the black by “a couple hundred thousand” this year.
I think Cooke is being extremely optimistic. Businesses that cut hours, or events to save money, give less incentive at the same time for people to return as customers. It’s a catch 22, and I’ll be surprised if Rosecroft has any live non-stakes racing at sometime in the future.
This news comes two weeks before the horse tries to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years.
NEW YORK — Triple Crown contender Big Brown has a slight crack to his left front hoof, although trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. expressed confidence Sunday the injury won’t keep his colt from running in the Belmont Stakes in less than two weeks.
But the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner has missed two days of training at Belmont Park, and will miss at least several more while being treated by hoof specialist Ian McKinlay for a five-eighths of an inch crack on the inside of his left heel.
“We’re all concerned because there’s a big race coming up,” Dutrow said at a Sunday news conference outside his barn. “But Ian has us pretty well relaxed.”
The trainer said he was 100 percent confident Big Brown would be in top form when he attempts to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978. “I sure am,” he said.
The injury was detected by Dutrow on Friday, who wasn’t sure what the problem was so he summoned McKinlay, who treated Big Brown for more serious front foot issues — abscesses in the soles of each of his front feet that led to wall separations — last year and again in January.
McKinlay treated the cracked hoof with an iodine and alcohol solution Sunday, and said he will take a closer look Monday, perhaps patching it up and inserting a set of wires before stitching up the area.
This prediction could be wrong but I think Big Brown won’t race at the Belmont. A deal has already been made for this horse’s future as a stud. Racing him at Belmont risks this investment. That’s why I don’t think Big Brown will race.
The most exciting two minutes in all of sports was raced today.
Big Brown backed up his trainer’s boasts with an explosive finishing kick and won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday — a day marred by the fatal breakdown of the filly Eight Belles.
The unbeaten Big Brown took charge when the 20-horse field turned for home. Under the urging of jockey Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown cruised to a 4 3/4-length victory to become the seventh unbeaten Derby winner with his fourth consecutive win. The last one was Barbaro in 2006
Big Brown made it look easy today with a convincing victory. Now it has to be seen if the horse can win the Triple Crown. There hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
Here’s the video of the 2008 Kentucky Derby.
After the race was over, one horse had to be put down.
The cheers for the winner’s decisive victory were cut short when Eight Belles, the runner-up, was euthanized on the track minutes after the race when she collapsed with two broken front ankles.
What a terrible thing to happen on horse racing’s biggest day of the year. Eight Belles collapsed on the back stretch after the race was over. What happened today brings back memories of Ruffian and her tragic end.
Some may say Eight Belles was raced too hard, but these are fragile animals as Barbaro reminded us just recently.
Due to heavy rains in the Pompano Beach area during the late afternoon hours, and with the forecast calling for additional downpours in the vicinity, Pompano Park cancelled its live racing for Friday.
Florida gets heavy rains all the time. Horse racing takes place in bad weather(With the exception of lightning), on the surface this news makes little sense. Except that Pompano Park is cutting its racing dates. It looks like the addition of the Racino will only provide a slight reprieve before harness racing dies out in South Florida.
LONDON (Reuters) – A British man celebrated his 60th birthday in unexpected style at the weekend when a 50 pence ($1) bet on the horses turned him into an instant millionaire.
Fred Craggs, from Yorkshire in northern England, was not even aware of his win when he walked into a branch of the William Hill betting agency to see how he had done with his accumulator bet.
When he was informed of his good fortune he was said to have turned rather pale and muttered that he had better go home to tell his wife.
His coup was selecting eight winners running at various courses around the country — starting with one called “Isn’t That Lucky” and finishing with “A Dream Come True” — at odds of 2,000,000 to one.
“This is the most amazing bet ever placed since betting shops were made legal in 1961,” William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said on Monday.
Between the British tax man and Mr. Craggs wife I wonder how much will be left for the lucky bettor.
Just more proof that horse racing in the United States can’t survive economically today.
Freehold Raceway has released a reduced purse structure and the Meadowlands is expected to follow with drastic purse cuts if the New Jersey legislature does not quickly fulfill promises to provide a purse supplement.
Freehold issued a statement to its horsemen on Tuesday which said:
“No deal has been reached as of yet for a new purse supplement. We have been overpaying purses by over $100,000 per week. With the current purse schedule, we would be in an overpayment situation in another week. This will be the new purse schedule until a new agreement is reached. Unfortunately, we will not be able to write an invitational pace, open mares or open trot until a new agreement is reached.”
The Meadowlands has also indicated that it could possibly be cutting its purse structure by as much as 45 percent by the end of the month if no agreement is forthcoming from Trenton. Additionally, the leading standardbred track in the country will be asking for payback of the overpayments it made in January.
Without a purse supplement, the Meadowlands’ nightly purse distribution would drop from the current average level of $220,000 per program down to $90,000 nightly.
That is a 60% dropoff. You would think with its close proximity to New York City, racing at The Meadowlands and even Freehold would be thriving. Apparently not, remember the New York Racing association even had to file for bankruptcy almost fifteen months ago. Few race tracks today can survive without support of other forms of gambling(casinos, poker), even then racing establishments often struggle to survive.
Sadly I think horse racing may be dead in this country about 50 years from now. It could happen alot sooner. I’ve been to the races no more than five times since leaving the Navy 18 years ago. If a racing fan like me don’t attend the races, then the sport has problems.
The Hall of Fame driver has won at least 200 races for 17 straight years. From Harnessracing.com-
Hall of Famer Wally Hennessey became the 22nd driver in harness racing history to reach the 7,000-win plateau on Wednesday when guiding Blessed Victory through the wire first in the 11th race at Pompano Park.
Starting from post nine in the non-winners trot, Blessed Victory led every step of the way en route to a seven-length triumph, covering the mile in 1:58.2 to give Hennessey his landmark victory.
“Any time you can reach a milestone like this, it’s an accomplishment,†Hennessey said from the Pompano winner’s circle following his winning drive. “I’ve had many opportunities from a lot of good people, and you don’t stand here with 7,000 races won having done it alone.â€
A native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and born to a family rich in the tradition of Standardbred racing, Hennessey was a dominant driver in the Maritimes throughout the early stages of his career, becoming the youngest driver to win the Maritime driving championship when tallying 136 victories in 1981, returning to claim the title again in 1982 and 1983 before leaving the comforts of home to ply his trade south of the border.
“I used to take some trips down to Pompano Park in the early ’80s,†Hennessey recalled. “I would dream of driving down here, even if it was for just one race. Then, in 1986, I decided to make the jump and give it a try. I’ve been very fortunate to do as well as I have, and many of my wins have come at this track.â€
Inducted to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y., in July 2007, Hennessey is also a member of the Prince Edward Island and Florida Sports Hall of Fame, and will forever be linked with the illustrious career of Moni Maker, who he drove to victory across North America, along with a triumph in the Elitlopp in Sweden.
After finishing 2007 with 274 wins to mark the 19th consecutive season that the 52-year-old horseman has won at least 200 races, Hennessey has no intentions of slowing down.
I saw Wally drive when at Pompano Park when I used to go to the races there with my father. 52 years of age is still quite young for a harness drive. Wally could be driving and or training for another 20-25 years easy.
It isn’t three months since Joe Hennessey, Wally’s father, passed away. I’m sure Joe is proud of what his son has accomplished.
The Meadows is working on an agreement to move its signature race, the Delvin Miller Adios, to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs for one year, while the new casino building is being constructed on the track’s property. The new building is scheduled to open in early 2009, which would allow for the return of the Adios. Both The Meadows and Pocono are five-eighths mile racing ovals.
Meanwhile, The Meadows also plans to ask the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission for permission to drop Saturday racing in 2008. Track general manager John Marshall told Harness Tracks of America that business has been tough in the afternoon market on Saturdays.
Both tracks are virtually the same, just in different parts of Pennsylvania. The move makes sense, though I am sure local businesses in Washington PA aren’t happy with the one year move.
On a personal note- The only time the Adios finished in a dead heat, was 1972 between Strike Out and Jay Time. Both those horses were rivals of Fast Clip, a horse then owned by my father. Clip didn’t race in the Adios that year. It may have had something to do with an accident that happened in July 72 where the horse’s leg wraps were applied too tightly causing a loss of circulation. A serious injury to a race horse, that caused Clip not to race for almost a month.
A month after the Adios, Strike Out and Jay Time were at it again in the first heat of The Little Brown Jug. I wonder if Keith Waples decision to park Jay Time as the two horses went the 1st quarter in 27 flat had something to do with what happened at The Adios. Jay Time finished last in the Jug’s first heat, and had to be scratched from the second race.
I was to a Adios race in either 1973 or 1974. My father didn’t have a horse in the event, but saw the race take place. Other than Pompano Park in Florida, Pocono Downs is the last harness track I been to. I went there with my father sometime in the mid-80′s.
The Meadows joins a long list of race tracks in financial difficulty. Hosting one of racing’s premier events doesn’t protect any horse venue these days.
The Irish jockey was just cleared of race fixing charges also. From AFP-
Six-time British champion jockey Kieren Fallon has failed a drugs test, his lawyer said on Saturday, a day after he was cleared of race-fixing charges when a two-month trial collapsed.
The 42-year-old Irishman tested positive for a banned substance after a race in Deauville, France, in August, said Fallon’s solicitor Christopher Stewart-Moore, although a B-sample second test result is still awaited.
“I can confirm that the story is true but it is a matter we are dealing with together with (French racing authority) France Galop and it is something we are not able to comment on.
“I am not in receipt of the actual B-sample results,” he added, saying the positive test came after he rode “Myboycharlie” in the Prix Morny at Deauville on August 19.
French racing authorities imposed a six-month suspension on Fallon from December last year, after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in June 2006.
The news comes a day after Fallon voiced relief but also anger following the collapse of a high-profile race-fixing trial against him and five co-defendants at the Old Bailey in London.
The six were accused of conspiracy to defraud online betting customers by trying to cheat in 27 races to make horses lose, but the judge ruled there was no case to answer.
The drug test and the race fixing allegations are probably unrelated. Few people understand the measures jockeys have to take to keep riding. They eat and purge to keep their weight dozens of pounds below normal for their heights. It often causes both major physical ailments and sometimes mental health issues.
