With a change in the dynamics of live races in Illinois, Hawthorne Racecourse will begin its spring/summer thoroughbred season on Sunday, March 5. Traditionally, purebred races spring and fall races meet, the switch to summer live racing will allow riders the ability to stay in one location for most of the year while providing grass-court races in a long time. In addition to the schedule change, Hawthorne Racecourse will also offer the lowest payouts in the country on Win-Place-Show betting.
After completing the fall 2022 thoroughbred season, Hawthorne remains open for training, providing riders with a place to stay over the winter while keeping their horses healthy. A mild winter with limited rainfall has allowed many other horses to maintain consistent forms of training in preparation for the onset of spring. With more horses on the field and busy training tabs, 69 horses were involved in Sunday’s opening day card of nine races. For the first three months of the season, Hawthorne will race live on Sundays and Thursdays with a post at 2:30pm.
Hawthorne Racing Director Jim Miller said: “We have made the decision not to participate in Saturday’s race in the spring for a variety of reasons. “Saturday was packed with so many spring marquee days around the country that we didn’t feel it was the smartest thing to compete with those locations. By moving Saturday’s race to Thursday in season. Spring, we will face less competition on the national scene while being able to make Hawthorne a more visible track for the betting public. its down in the state, we wanted to give the Illinois riders as many opportunities to race in the state.By racing on Saturdays for the first three months, we would compete head-to-head with and that won’t benefit anyone.”
While in-person thoroughbred racing begins in March, the extended summer meetup will also offer the possibility of more grass-court races at Hawthorne. With the spring races at Hawthorne traditionally allowing for only a few weeks on grass and the fall race having only six weeks of grass racing, the schedule change in 2023 will offer plenty of on-court potential. more grass. Grass racing at Hawthorne is expected to begin in May as there will likely be a full four months of grass racing over the summer. Along with the overnight race, five bets will be made on Hawthorne grass this summer, featuring the return of the Hawthorne Derby, hosted by BetMakers on Sunday, June 25.
Many familiar faces remained at Hawthorne during winter training as former Hawthorne coaching champions Hugh Robertson, Brittany Vanden Berg and Scott Becker were on the field all winter long. In addition, Larry Rivelli, Chris Block, Frank Kirby, Michele Boyce and Armando Hernandez have also left their horses in Hawthorne for training this winter. With numerous Hawthorne riding titles under his belt, Chris Emigh will return to horseback riding at Hawthorne this spring alongside another Hawthorne champion in Victor Santiago. Veterans Julio Felix, Emmanuel Esquivel and Constantino Roman also return while Sebastian Saez heads to Chicago, looking to make his mark in 2023.
For players, Hawthorne Racecourse is also making headlines with the end of bets in 2023. Although a low 15% payoff has been offered on the popular Pick 4 and Pick 5 bets, Hawthorne Racecourse is currently available. will offer the lowest odds in the country on Win, Place and Show bets. For the 2023 season, the return on these bets has been reduced to 12%.
“When one first starts betting on a race, Win, Place and Show is often the first way someone will play a race,” Hawthorne Assistant General Manager John Walsh said. . “Win, Place and Show are still some of the most popular bets, and often combine to produce the greatest amounts of money on cards. With added visibility we expect Hawthorne to pick up in 2023 due to the fact that he’s going to win.” Moving on to summer racing, with our Thursday card, we want to offer the best value in the country to our customers.We’re looking forward to fuller fields, more grass races. more and the races are very competitive all summer.The reduction in the WPS bet amount is more beneficial for bettors and we believe it will also increase the funds to benefit the races for the horsemen of the state of Illinois.”
Hawthorne Racecourse, Chicago’s Hometown, hosts two-person races in 2023. Spring thoroughbred races begin Sunday, March 5, and races through Monday, September 4. During the spring meeting, the first daily posting at Hawthorne will be 2:30 PM. Mining race returns to Hawthorne after finishing the race at the Illinois State Fair. The live mining race begins on Saturday, September 9, and the races run through the end of the year. Hawthorne is open daily for full card emulation as well as sports bets in the PointsBet Sportsbook. For any information about Hawthorne Racecourse, visit our website www.HawthorneRaceCourse.com.
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