Hawthorne opens for short spring meeting

Spring racing – what’s left of it – returns to Chicago on Friday, when Hawthorne Race Course begins a Thoroughbred meet that comprises just 15 programs.

There are two programs opening week, three the next three weeks, and four closing week, as this truncated meet wraps up April 28 before racing shifts to Arlington starting May 4.

Enhanced purses for Illinois-breds are pretty good. For example, statebred-restricted maiden special weight races go for $30,000. Open maiden-specials are $20,000. The nine-race opening-day card, all sprints, many at five or 5 1/2 furlongs, is not all that bad, and 90 horses, including also-eligibles, are entered.

The horse population on the grounds is approaching 700, and more horses will be coming north from Fair Grounds, which closes after racing on Saturday. On the face of things, there is ample stock to support the limited meet, but racing secretary Allen Plever fears many horsemen are merely on the way to other destinations, such as Indiana Grand, Prairie Meadows in Iowa, and Canterbury Park in Minnesota.

“I see a lot of Minnesota-breds, Indiana-breds, Iowa-breds on the work tab,” he said. “Some of them will run, some probably won’t, because those meets are close to starting.

“The key for us is getting on the turf course. If we can get that going in Week 3 of the meet, we have a chance to have a decent meet.”

Unfortunately, spring has been slow to come in the Chicago area, and use of the turf course is dependent on the condition of the grass.

The spring meet starts later than usual, and Hawthorne was operating as a harness-racing venue through Feb. 19. It was not until Feb. 26 that the dirt track for Thoroughbred racing was laid down atop the Standardbred surface and readied for training.

“We did have a barn indoors where horses could jog an eighth of a mile around,” Plever said. “Activity picked up in that barn about Feb. 1, and actually some guys won races from there shipping to Mahoning Valley.”

With the focus on Illinois-breds – and sheer survival – the Illinois Derby has gone away again after returning last spring. The stakes schedule consists of six $75,000 races for Illinois-breds, three on April 21, three on April 28.

Daily post time is 3:10 p.m. Central.